Loan of $60 million will be focused on municipalities with high levels of insecurity
Honduras will implement a program that will contribute to improving citizen security in the capital city of Tegucigalpa and San Pedro Sula, with a $60 million loan approved by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB).
The project is expected to improve living conditions in urban neighborhoods through access to basic services and the reduction of the crimes that plague their inhabitants, such as homicide and domestic violence, through improvement in violence-prevention programs, victim assistance and criminal investigation.
Honduras has experienced the highest urban growth in the Latin American and Caribbean region in the last 50 years, with 55 percent now living in cities, which has generated a disorderly growth of vulnerable neighborhoods with an accompanying deterioration of the social fabric. The decline in citizen “coexistence” is largely due to high levels of income inequality and the presence of interpersonal conflicts that foster insecurity and urban violence.
The program will help finance investments in basic infrastructure works in vulnerable neighborhoods, construction of water and sanitation systems, public lighting and road improvements, and will include elements of energy efficiency and mitigation against environmental risks. The project will also promote alternatives to crime and entrepreneurship, supporting young people and women at risk with training in areas of culture, sports and job skills, contributing to psychosocial and economic benefits for families living in these areas.
The improvement of violence prevention and victim assistance services, as well as new mechanisms for responding to complaints regarding dilapidated infrastructure and investments will focus on specialized, comprehensive care for victims of intrafamily violence, accompanied by training of community police personnel.
In the area of police effectiveness, systems for improving the professionalization and integrity of the police will be consolidated, together with strengthening of the technical-scientific aspects of criminal investigations. The project aims to improve the quality of additional services for the prevention of violence and crime control and to provide timely help to victims of violence and crime, by increasing the capacity of local government.
The IDB financing has two sources of funds: one loan of $36 million with a 25-year term, with a grace period of five and a half years and an interest rate based on LIBOR, and a second of $24 million loan with a 40-year term, with a 40-year grace period and an interest rate of 0.25 percent.
About the IDB
The Inter-American Development Bank is devoted to improving lives. Established in 1959, the IDB is a leading source of long-term financing for economic, social and institutional development in Latin America and the Caribbean. The IDB also conducts cutting-edge research and provides policy advice, technical assistance and training to public and private sector clients throughout the region.