DILI, 26 may 2022 (TATOLI) – After 20 years of independence, despite efforts had been made by the government, development partners, and humanitarian organizations, malnutrition remains one of the national issues that required serious action to step up efforts to address the issue. Therefore, a National Nutrition Standard and Malnutrition Awareness Campaign are needed to contribute to addressing the issue in the country, revealed the director of Public Health of the Ministry of Health, Frederico Bosco Alves.
According to Timor-Leste Food and Nutrition Survey, conducted in 2020, 47.1% of Timorese children are stunted.
Based on a report from Timor-Leste’s National Food Security Council (KONSANTIL), 62% of subsistence households experience annual food shortages, which many considered to be one of the main leading causes of malnutrition in the country.
To combat malnutrition in the country, the combined work from the health centers, hospitals, and national organizations holds the role to promote nutritional food programs for children and pregnant mothers to consume foods of high nutritional value.
Alves said in order to raise the awareness of the communities and encourage Timorese people, especially mothers and children to consume nutritious food, Timor-Leste needs national nutrition standards guidelines.
“The elaboration of the national nutrition standards guidelines is underway. Once the elaboration of this guideline is concluded, then we will straight away carry out a national malnutrition awareness campaign to raise the awareness of the communities on consuming nutritious food to combat malnutrition in Timor-Leste,” Alves told Tatoli, at his office, in Dili.
He said the use of mass media campaigns was crucial to changing the health behavior of the communities: “Information about a balanced diet, healthy diet, and nutrient-rich food will be broadcasted on TV, and radio and also be published on print and online media.”
Alves said a healthy diet included the following: fruit, vegetables, legumes, lentils, beans, nuts, whole grains (unprocessed maize, millet, oats, wheat, and brown rice): “Variety of foods essential for a balanced diet. Our diet must provide all essential nutrients in the required amounts.”
“All of this information would be contained in the National Nutrition Standard to be disseminated to the communities on the mass media and at the health facilities across the country.”
Alves emphasized that the combined efforts of the Ministry of Health (MoH), the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries (MoAF), Word Health Organization (WHO), KONSSANTIL (National Council for Food Security, Sovereignty and Nutrition in Timor-Leste), World Food Program (WFP), and UNICEF was crucial to support Timor-Leste sustainable program to achieve the dream of eliminating all forms of malnutrition in the country.
In addition, to combat malnutrition in the country over the next four years, the government and partners had taken serious action by launching National Health Sector Nutrition Strategic Plan for 2022-2026 to combat malnutrition, especially stunting in Timorese children.
In its Consolidated National Action Plan for Nutrition and Food Security (CNAP), the Government has set the goal to reduce stunting by 22% (from 47% to 25%) by 2030.
With the launching of the National Health Sector Nutrition Strategic Plan, the government also committed to bringing down the prevalence of rickets from 8.6% in 2020 to 3.0% by 2030.
To combat malnutrition, especially stunting in Timor-Leste, the government had taken several important measures, including adopting the National Nutrition Strategy (2014-2019), National Policy for Food Security and Nutrition (2017), and the National Action Plan for Food Security and Nutrition (CNAP FNS 2022) under the aegis of KONSANTIL, as an inter-ministerial and inter-sectoral strategic body, composed of public and private entities, with representatives of development partners and civil society entities, both national and international.
Another important measure was accessing, in october 2020, the SUN (Scaling Up Nutrition) Movement.
Journalist: Filomeno Martins
Editor: Nelia Borges
