In its recent Data to Action workshop, Honduras gathered key municipal-level stakeholders to contribute to the development of local action plans to address the needs and issues faced by its children and youth revealed by its 2017 VACS.
On March 19 and 20, 2024, the national government of Honduras hosted a subnational Data to Action workshop for representatives from four municipal governments and Tegucigalpa. The subnational Data to Action workshop was modeled after the national Data to Action workshop carried out in 2018, as part of the Violence Against Children and Youth Survey (VACS) process.
The adaptation of the subnational workshop was led by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), UNICEF Honduras and Together for Girls, with support from Global Affairs Canada as part of the Data for Change II project.
Why the Data to Action process is key
The objective of the subnational Data to Action workshop in Honduras was to support the identification of municipal-level priorities for the local action plans for violence prevention based on the best avaialble data. This is a cornerstone of the VACS Data to Action process, but has rarely been done at the subnational level.
The Government of Honduras launched the country’s first-ever National Action Plan to Prevent Violence Against Girls, Boys and Adolescents in 2022, based on findings from the 2017 VACS. As a result, municipalities decided to prioritize the development local action plans to address the specific needs and issues faced by girls, boys and adolescents in their communities. This is an important step towards localization and sustainability of violence prevention efforts in Honduras.
Key points from Honduras' Data to Action workshop
Workshop participants included technical focal points from the municipal violence observatories in Choloma, San Pedro Sula, Quimistán and La Ceiba as well as representatives from the Secretariat of Security, the Secretariat of Children, Adolescents and Family and the Secretariat of Strategic Planning.
Workshop participants came together to select priority issues based on available data from local violence observatories as well as national sources, such as the Honduras VACS, and identify priorities for interventions using the INSPIRE framework and the National Action Plan.
The event was inaugurated by Mr. Hugo Suazo, Vice Minister of Security, and is a testament to the collaborative efforts of Donald Sagastume from the Directorate of Violence Prevention of the Secretary of Security, Nancy Zuñiga from UNICEF Honduras, Andrés Villaveces from Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and Carme Clavel, Together for Girls.
What's next?
As a next step, workshop participants will facilitate meetings in their municipalities with the local children's councils to further define priorities according to relevant data and indicators to prevent violence against children and adolescents.
This consultative process will ensure that the local action plans to prevent violence against girls, boys and adolescents have buy-in from a wide range of stakeholders.