Timor-Leste: Promoting Sustainable Food and Nutrition Security in Timor-Leste

Timor-Leste, one of the world's newest countries, also has among the world's highest rates of undernourishment and child and maternal mortality. Nearly half of all children under 5 suffer from malnutrition, and these rates are on the increase. The Joint Programme aims to improve access to sufficient, safe and nutritious food as well as provide information and counselling on better feeding and caring practices by women and children.

The programme's focus is on infant and young child feeding, nutrients commodities and micro-nutrients supplementation, community management of acute malnutrition linked with supplementary feeding, and the establishment of a food security and nutrition surveillance system.

The project is also seeking ways to promote the scaling-up of effective interventions, such as multiple micronutrients (Sprinkles) supplementation and salt iodization.