Honduran President Manuel Zelaya has declared a health emergency in the country following an acute shortage of drugs in the hospitals.

The declaration was spurred by media reports about the death of a teenage haemophiliac boy at a hospital in Tegucigalpa, because of shortage of supplies of the clotting agent, factor eight, used for treating haemophilia.

The declaration authorises the purchase of medicines worth us $8 million and setting up a committee comprising national health bodies to regulate the purchase and distribution of medicines. Healthcare officials blamed poor administration, crime and lack of funds for the poor state of health services.