DILI, 15 october 2020 (TATOLI)- Timor-Leste is identified as a country with hunger alarming level with a score of 37.6, ranks 106th out of the 107 countries following the Global Hunger Index (GHI).
The GHI report shows the country as a second-worst in this year’s index among the countries analyzed.
The GHI uses four indicators to measure levels of hunger by country; undernourishment of the entire population, wasting, stunting, and mortality rates of children under 5 years of age.
Data for GHI scores, child stunting, and child wasting are from 1998–2002 (2000), 2004–2008 (2006), 2010–2014 (2012), and 2015–2019 (2020). Data for undernourishment are from 2000–2002 (2000), 2005–2007 (2006), 2011–2013 (2012), and 2017–2019 (2020). Data for child mortality are from 2000, 2006, 2012, and 2018 (2020).
With a population of only 1.2 million people, almost 51.2 Children experience stunting. 14.6 percent are underweight, with 30.9 are undernourished and under five mortality rates.
These four indicators are moderated from the country insecurity in agriculture sector which is also the cause from Whether and poor infrastructure.
according to the report from Oxfam, and data from Agricultural census, Most of Timorese population work in agriculture, this makes around 89.8% of country’s rural population dependent on their crops for the income.
The climate of Timor-Leste is prone to droughts and flooding and poor, most vulnerable families experience decreased food security in every october to march they often have to rely on aid and food importation to survive.
Infrastructure, while rural population also hardly access to the adequate roads and irrigation system, health and education.
Nutrition in Timor-Leste has been a public health problem, which is hit the highest rate in the Asia-Pacific-Region.
Following the Demographic and Health Survey data of 2016, there is 45% of children under five are victims of stunting, 24% are stunted and 6% have obesity problems.
The data also shows that about 40% of children suffer from anemia and less than 50% consume exclusive breast milk. Only 13% of children and young people aged 6 to 23 follow a recommended diet.
the report also shows 27% of women suffer from malnutrition and 23% aged between 15 and 49 years of anemia.
Despite the difficult task of ending hunger in Timor-Leste, the government has been working very hard to deal with this issue and improve many sectors within the country , setting the budget for the infrastructure, clean water, basic sanitation infrastructure, roads, irrigation, schools, and health.
Establish a cooperation with the International Partnerships Organizations Oxfam Austrlia and World Food Programmed to end the hunger in Timor-Leste through providing the support program for the Timorese rural farmers to sustain themselves in the future.
At the same time, Government also working very hard to join the Global Movement for the Improvement of Nutrition, Inviting the partners and supporting government effort to reduce mal nutrition as well as increasing the economy opportunity for Timorese people.
Timor-Leste is officially becoming 62nd country associate in the SUN Movement to fight against mal nutrition.
In fact, in the GHI score trend for Timor-Leste shows, a sign of progress as the country move up from score of 46.1 to 36.2 and 37.6 on the global hunger index scale between 2016 to 2020.
TATOLI
