DILI, 21 March 2025 – The United Nations Children’s Fund, (UNICEF) and the Korea International Cooperation Agency, (KOICA), on Thursday (20/03) launched a US$6.2 million program that will last until 2027 to assist the Government of Timor-Leste’s efforts to address the emerging threats of climate change on the lives and development of children and young people.
Under the Climate Action for the Last Mile: Reaching the Most Vulnerable Children in Timor-Leste, more than 30,000 children and their families from Dili, Lautem, and Viqueque will access climate-smart social services, including WASH, Healthcare, Nutrition, Education, Social Protection, and Child Protection programs.
Over the next three years, the program will fund the establishment of climate-resilient, low-carbon social services at schools; healthcare facilities; water, sanitation, and hygiene. In addition, schools will be supported to incorporate climate change, disaster risk reduction, and environmental education into children’s learning.
These interventions are designed to curb the progression of climate change, while also reducing vulnerability to the impact of climate-induced disasters such as drought and floods and helping communities to recover from and adapt to the changing climate conditions.
“Since the opening of the KOICA Timor-Leste Office in 2010, KOICA has long been dedicated to supporting children’s care and education together with various partners, and I am pleased that we are now partnering with UNICEF to expand and strengthen these efforts. This Project is significant as it addresses both children’s issues and climate change simultaneously. With the strong support of the Government of Timor-Leste, and the commitment of the UNICEF team, I am confident that this project will be a great success and leave a lasting positive impact” said Youn Hwa Kang, Director of KOICA Timor-Leste office.
This program is especially critical in Timor-Leste, where children bear the brunt of climate-induced disasters such as floods, drought, extreme heat, and erratic rain patterns, which often plunge already marginalized, into deeper socio-economic challenges.
As in other countries in the East Asia and Pacific Region, children are often adversely affected by the negative impacts of climate change through reduced access to clean water, lost time in school, and reduced access to healthcare, food, and shelter.
“Climate change is a global phenomenon. But for countries like Timor-Leste, where equitable access to basic social services is already a problem for many children and their families, climate induced disaster such as droughts and flooding, only compound an already dire situation,” said UNICEF Representative, Patrizia DiGiovanni. “UNICEF is therefore grateful for this timely support from KOICA, which will help Timor-Leste to expand its actions to address climate change, so that every child now and, in the future, has an equal opportunity to survive and thrive.”
This program in Timor-Leste is part of a current partnership between KOICA and UNICEF, where climate-smart social services are being developed in Asia (Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands and Timor-Leste) and Africa (Comoros and Zimbabwe). These countries were selected based on KOICA’s dual priorities of supporting fragile and/or conflict countries and aligning with the Korean government’s commitment to addressing the interlinkages among the humanitarian, development, and peace interventions.
Journalist: Camilio de Sousa
Editor: Filomeno Martins
