WFP Regional Bureau for Asia and the Pacific - 2016 SPRs RBB 2016 SPRs by project type | Page 265

Standard Project Report 2016
As men play an important role in controlling household resources, the two partners conducted discussions and
information sessions with over 6,300 male and female community leaders in order to encourage more equal sharing
of nutritious foods and support for women during pre-natal and post-natal periods. Just under half of the participants
in these sessions were men. Other activities which involved both male and female caregivers included cooking
demonstrations, knowledge sharing and discussion sessions, and counselling and messaging provided at health
centres, with over 19,000 caregivers receiving at least three messages on nutrition practices in 2016. Whilst the
majority of recipients were female, 25 percent of male caregivers received counselling or the minimum
three messages and 35 percent of caregivers attending cooking demonstrations were men.
These activities also aimed to reduce the risk of gender-based violence, which might arise from allocating increased
food resources to young children or women, or in connection with women's more frequent attendance at health
facilities. Mother support groups also stressed the importance of women's empowerment. These actions were
essential to improving the programme's effectiveness, particularly working towards the overall outcome of reducing
the cycle of undernutrition, as the 2013 Timor-Leste Food and Nutrition Survey (TLFNS) identified the link between
women's empowerment and better nutritional levels for their children.
WFP worked closely with national partners, including the Prime Minister's Office, to develop communication
responses to El Niño, to ensure that messaging was gender-sensitive, and that women's nutrition was prioritised
within households. As a result of increased food insecurity, it was feared that women, especially pregnant and
lactating women (PLW) would reduce their food intake, and so messaging responses tried to prevent this decrease.
Message about prioritising women and children's nutrition is now one of the official El Niño messages from the
Government, which has been spread via radio, thousands of posters, and numerous community events.
Through regular programme monitoring, WFP found more girls than boys suffering from moderate acute
malnutrition (MAM), whereas the 2013 TLFNS found more boys than girls with MAM on average in the country. The
programme is monitoring these gender differences in MAM rates to assess the need for further investigation.
WFP initiated the collection of age-disaggregated data on PLW enrolled in the mother and child health and nutrition
(MCHN) programme for the treatment of MAM in Ermera, in order to analyse further the prevalence of acute
malnutrition among this vulnerable group and to support monitoring and evaluation. Thus, the programme will
investigate whether further research should be conducted and additional nutrition actions should be undertaken,
tailored specifically towards adolescent PLW aged 15-18 years.
Protection and Accountability to Affected Populations
WFP ensured that assisted populations were required to travel as short a distance as possible by providing
specialised nutritious food (SNF) in 84 percent of all village health posts across the six municipalities where the
programme operated. By providing SNF at these health posts, the Ministry of Health and WFP ensured that
assistance was provided at the health facilities closest to beneficiaries. Since all food distribution and health checks
occurred in the morning, the programme minimised safety risks for beneficiaries, particularly for women, by avoiding
the need for beneficiaries to travel at night.
Household surveys of people receiving treatment showed that 87 percent of beneficiaries travelled by foot to their
closest health facility, while the remaining 13 percent travelled by motorbike, car or public transport. The majority of
respondents (92 percent), spent no more than 1 hour travelling to their closest health facility, out of which 40
percent of respondents spent less than 30 minutes travelling. Nevertheless, the time taken to attend health clinics
created barriers to health clinic attendance for some beneficiaries, in particular difficulties for beneficiaries
continuing follow-up treatment from one month to the next. Forty-two percent of beneficiaries cited their need to
conduct farming activities and participate in cultural ceremonies within their family as a barrier to accessing health
facilities.
Information about the programme was provided by posters mounted at the health facilities, communicated through
radio public service announcements, and shared through meetings with community leaders.
The Ministry of Health appreciated the nutrition department and WFP's checklist which was used to interview
beneficiaries and give them an opportunity to provide feedback about the assistance they received. The checklist
was updated in early 2016 to more thoroughly track beneficiaries' satisfaction and understanding of the causes of
malnutrition, to guide behaviour change communications, and to learn whether counselling and basic information
were being provided by health staff. In 2016, the household interviews found that 85 percent of caregivers surveyed
received information on the correct use of the supplementary food and on hygiene, and that no complaints were
made.
In addition, WFP coordinated and expanded robust information-sharing systems with the Ministry of Health, the
social audit unit under the Prime Minister’s office, and other partners.
Timor-Leste, Democratic Republic of (TL)
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Development Project - 200770