Improving food security in Timor-Leste
UnitingWorld has been supporting our partner in Timor-Leste to help communities prepare for and respond to the impacts of El Niño.
As a small island nation, Timor-Leste relies heavily on rain-fed agriculture and imported food. Since September 2023, the El Niño weather event has led to drought-like conditions, irregular rainfall, and flash floods during the country’s main planting season.
The nation was already grappling with rising food insecurity, with twelve out of fourteen municipalities facing drought and almost a quarter of the population in Timor-Leste currently food insecure.
Our partner FUSONA* has been working alongside other church agencies as part of CAN DO** and local government bodies to roll out new large-scale projects to address climate change and keep people safe during disasters.
FUSONA is now working in three communities identified as most vulnerable because their crops were destroyed in flooding in 2021 and 2022. The project has provided seeds, tools and training in disaster preparedness and is working to improve access and preservation of water supplies.
As part of the project, schools are being engaged in disaster risk reduction training to equip youth to be able to help their communities during emergencies. Youth will also conduct tree planting in their schools and wider community to reforest vulnerable areas and reduce disaster risks.
With improved knowledge of food production, processing and storage and how to mitigate disaster risks, the project will help whole communities be better prepared and resilient to future disasters.
Timor-Leste Community Health Update
Timor-Leste has one of the highest rates of malnutrition among children in the world.
Our church partner IPTL and FUSONA have decided to shift the focus of their work from running health clinics to addressing food insecurity among the rural poor in three communities.
The decision was made based on the resources and technical capacity available in FUSONA and the increased capacity of the Timor-Leste government to provide health care services.
The first phase of the redesigned project is already underway, expanding the kitchen garden activities to 100 new families in vulnerable areas, providing seeds, tools and training to help people grow nutritious food on their land.
This was made possible thanks to your support. Thank you!
Header photo: Paulina in Same Timor-Leste was helped to expand her food garden thanks to UnitingWorld supporters and our partner FUSONA. She says it’s been hard to grow things during the dry season and would like training on different methods to improve her crops.
*FUSONA is the development agency of the Protestant Church in Timor-Leste (IPTL), a partner of UnitingWorld and the Uniting Church in Australia.
** The Church Agencies Network – Disaster Operations (CAN DO) is a consortium of Australian faith-based agencies.