Timor-Leste is one of Asia’s newest nations. Since independence in 2002, it has made significant development progress. However, 42 percent of its 1.3 million citizens live below the poverty line. Such extensive poverty has led to chronic undernutrition and stunting, a condition in which children are underweight and small in stature for their age. Stunting affects almost half (47 percent) of Timor-Leste’s children under five years of age—a rate that far exceeds the average in Asia (22 percent) and is one of the highest in the world. Stunting can begin in utero if women are not properly nourished during pregnancy. Children with stunted growth experience higher rates of disease, mortality, and impaired cognitive and motor development. Addressing poverty and the resultant rate of stunting requires government-level intervention, partnership, and innovative approaches to overcoming systemic barriers created by years of conflict and occupation in Timor-Leste.
Supporting the Government of Timor-Leste to deliver higher-quality primary healthcare, basic education and social protection are the objectives of the Australia Timor-Leste Partnership for Human Development (PHD), a 10-year Australian Government initiative that began in 2016 managed by Abt Global. As part of PHD’s social protection portfolio, the Abt team worked with government to implement Timor-Leste’s first universal child-benefit program to reduce poverty, prevent stunting and foster economic inclusion. The new program, Bolsa da Mãe-Jerasaun Foun (Mother’s Purse-Next Generation, BdM-JF), began in 2022 pioneering innovations in social protection design and delivery. The Government of Australia supported BdM-JF through direct budget support and through technical and capacity strengthening support through PHD, the Partnership for Social Protection (P4SP), and Catalpa International.
In just 18 months, the Government of Timor-Leste made significant advances in social protection utilizing key innovations in governance, digitization, and collaboration with private-sector financial technology (fintech) providers. The new universal program expanded coverage to reach pregnant women and children with disabilities for the first time, and children from birth until 5 years of age. More than 60,000 people received vital financial support, including 208 children with disabilities. More than 40,000 people opened new fintech or bank accounts; 92 percent of them were women. At least, 2,275 people acquired birth certificates.
Health indicators also rose with registration and payment occurring at health facilities. Outpatient consultations across the 7 municipalities where the program was implemented increased 15 percent from 2022 to 2023. Postnatal and antenatal care visits increased by approximately 15 percent and children’s immunization rates also rose.
BdM-JF created systems that the government can build on to strengthen other social protection programs in Timor-Leste. Already, the Ministry of Social Solidarity and Inclusion (MSSI) has applied lessons learned from BdM-JF by increasing the value of the conditional, school-aged social assistance payments and introducing a supplement for children with disabilities. The Minister of MSSI expressed the government’s commitment to continuing collaboration with fintech companies to deliver other social protection payments to recipients. This commitment underscores the significance of the innovative partnership supported by Abt in enhancing the transparency, efficiency, and effectiveness of social protection programs.
BdM-JF improved the lives of Timorese women and children by establishing connections and facilitating and extending access to health, nutrition, financial and civil registration services. This impactful work lays the foundation for evidence-based social assistance programs that promote equitable improvements to the health and livelihoods of Timorese women and children in years to come.