Attached is the Report from RC of Dili Lafaek.
"There is more to follow which will include Manatuto area as well, and this was conducted by Elsa of the Rotaract Club of Manatuto", AG Ray Fauntleroy.
- Timor-Leste has one of the highest rates of malnutrition in the world, with 46 per cent of children under five suffering from chronic malnutrition.
- Many subsistence households experience annual food shortages exacerbated by Covid conditions limiting work and severe flooding in April 2021. It has severely impacted household food security.
- Timor-Leste has relied on food imports to offset domestic production deficits, leaving the population vulnerable to the impact of global price changes, Covid supply issues and climatic disaster. Poorer households, which spend a high proportion of disposable income on food, are the most vulnerable. These are the communities District 9560 is targeting in their food distribution project.
- Food and nutrition insecurity will continue to retard Timor-Leste’s development, particularly given the long-term impacts of climate change and population growth.
Timor-Leste’s food and nutrition insecurity is a multifaceted legacy of its history of occupation, conflict and underdevelopment. As most of the population relies on subsistence farming for their livelihoods, household food insecurity largely stems from poor agricultural productivity and the resultant low levels of disposable income to spend on purchasing food. As a result, many households experience annual food shortages. Malnutrition is also a particular problem in Timor-Leste. Stunting, where a child is too short for their age, affects almost half of children under the age of five. Malnutrition directly impacts a child’s health and hinders their physical and cognitive development, which results in barriers to reaching their best performance in school and work. Consequently, Timor-Leste’s high rate of malnutrition impedes the population’s ability to break the cycle of poverty and, at the national level, is a burden on national development. As a nation with a high poverty rate, achieving food and nutrition security is crucial for Timor-Leste’s development. The Rotary clubs in Timor Leste are leading the way.