Standard Project Report 2016
Institute in two municipalities. WFP also provided support and input for the roll-out of the Ministry of Health national guidelines for mother support groups, which advise caregivers on infant and young child feeding( IYCF) practices.
In 2014, Timor Leste was the first country in Asia to sign onto the Zero Hunger Challenge, handled through the inter-ministerial National Council for Food Security, Sovereignty and Nutrition( KONSSANTIL), and with the support of the United Nations the council formulated an ambitious national action plan. However, there has been little allocation of government funds to implement the ambitious plan, and specific targets have not been incorporated into yearly plans. In terms of government expenditure, the focus has been on food security, and supporting the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries to achieve this goal. In addition, considerable donor funds have been provided for nutrition-sensitive agricultural programmes, although less funding has been provided for nutrition-specific programmes.
In October 2016, WFP successfully worked with Parliament and the Ministry of Health to lobby for increased allocation of funds for nutrition programming, particularly within the budget allocated to the Ministry of Health. Parliament unanimously endorsed an action plan which promised to reduce wasting, stunting and anaemia, in part through increased funding for programmes which strengthen food security and nutrition. As a result, funding for the nutrition department of the Ministry of Health increased from USD 54,000 in 2016 to USD 400,000 in 2017. The initiative also committed to reducing undernutrition in women, children under 5 years of age, and adolescent girls; to providing all citizens, especially vulnerable and poor citizens, with access to food and health services; increasing coverage of social safety nets which target the poorest families; potentially fortifying rice; and improving family behaviours around nutrition. The current social safety net programme, Bolsa da Mae( BdM), provides funds to school age students in vulnerable families, while all children in primary and pre-secondary schools( grades 1-9) receive school feeding. The World Bank has recommended increasing the amount of assistance provided, as well as more effective targeting and strengthening linkages between assistance and school attendance and immunisation. WFP is also lobbying for the autonomous region of Oecusse to increase funding for nutrition programming, particularly for 2017 when donor funds for these specific programmes will cease.
The Ministry of Health requested increased support and closer coordination during various stakeholder meetings in 2016, thus WFP staff continued to provide technical assistance to the Ministry ' s nutrition department, health systems monitoring department as well as to the Medical and Pharmaceutical Supply Agency( SAMES). At the request of the Minister of Health, technical assistance provided to SAMES will be extended in 2017, particularly in support of the mSupply online supply chain management system.
The country office is developing a hand-over plan for its capacity development project following the project ' s closure at the end of 2017, and is in discussion with the nutrition department of the Ministry of Health on a timetable for the hand-over. SAMES has already successfully taken on supply management for Dili, the capital city, and plans to begin managing a number of other municipalities in early 2017.
Summary of WFP Operational Objectives
WFP ' s assistance in Timor-Leste focused on capacity development within the Ministry of Health for a nutrition programme for children and pregnant and lactating women( PLW).
Development project DEV 200770( 2014-2017), approved budget USD 13.8 million, aimed to develop the capacity of the Ministry of Health to implement a nutrition treatment programme, and to develop their capacity for programme monitoring at the national and municipal levels. This was part of WFP ' s shift in Timor-Leste from food delivery to enhancing the ability of the Ministry of Health to directly implement the programme, and was in line with the request by the Ministry of Health made when the programme was developed from the preceding mother and child health and nutrition( MCHN) programme.
The current programme began in 2014, as a result of the Government ' s request for WFP to continue providing support to the MCHN programme. The focus of the programme was to provide partner ministries with specific technical assistance in nutrition planning, monitoring and evaluation, and supply chain management. Under the treatment programme for moderate acute malnutrition( MAM), WFP provided targeted supplementary feeding to reduce undernutrition amongst PLW, as well as children under 5 years of age.
Relief Operation IR-EMOP 201017( October 2016- March 2017), approved budget USD 0.847 million, provided specialised nutritious food for children aged 6-23 months and PLW in three municipalities which were the most affected by the 2016 El Niño, in order to prevent an increase in undernutrition rates amongst these vulnerable groups.
To ensure future long-term collaboration towards achieving Sustainable Development Goal( SDG) 2, WFP is facilitating a Country Strategic Review process and the design of a future programme which will be focused on SDG 2 and SDG 17. Through this process, WFP will continue to emphasise to various stakeholders including the Prime
Timor-Leste, Democratic Republic of( TL) 5 Development Project- 200770