GTZ has been working in Honduras for more than 20 years on behalf of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ). Honduras, with seven million inhabitants, is among the poorest countries of Latin America. According to World Bank data, more than 50 percent of the population live in poverty, 23% in extreme poverty. The greatly unequal distribution of wealth is revealed by the fact that:

• 74% of the poor and 86% of the extremely poor live in rural areas
• income distribution and access to resources are grossly unbalanced, with 42% of total income going to 10% of the population
• only 69% of children complete primary school. The rate of children who must stay back and repeat a grade is high
• the rate of unemployment / underemployment is 29%.

The Honduran Government and donors are now focusing on the poverty reduction strategy, drafted in 2001. This strategy seeks to reduce the numbers of poor and extremely poor people by 24% within 15 years.

The primary objectives of cooperation between the Government of Honduras and the Federal Republic of Germany are poverty reduction and the promotion of sustainable development. GTZ works in three priority areas in Honduras:

• basic education
• environmental policy, protection and sustainable use of natural resources
• sustainable economic development

Work within the specific sectoral programmes is based on the poverty reduction strategy and covers the areas of decentralisation and municipal promotion. One central component is attention to the social interests and participation of men and women respectively. There is close collaboration and cooperation in all priority areas with the Centrum für internationale Migration und Entwicklung (CIM), the German Development Service (DED), Capacity Building International, Germany (InWent), and the KfW Entwicklungsbank (KfW development bank). Cooperation with the private sector in the form of public-private partnerships also plays a role, particularly in regard to sustainable coffee cultivation.

GTZ participates actively in coordinating and harmonising donor support processes and provides back-up to the Honduran partner in the drafting and/or implementation of national programmes. Advisory services to the partner focus on process support and are geared to strengthening the capacities of governmental, non-governmental, and private sector institutions.