Minister Fidelis represents Prime Minister at the High-Level International Forum on Nutrition
On September 8th, 2022, the Minister of the Presidency of the Council of Ministers, Fidelis Manuel Leite Magalhães, participated, representing the Prime Minister, Taur Matan Ruak, in the High-Level International Forum.
The event took place in the conference room of City 8, in Dili, and its theme was “under the theme of "Consolidating Nutrition Investments in Timor-Leste, in the Early Years of Life”.
In his speech at the opening of the event, Minister Fidelis thanked and congratulated “everyone for the initiative of this event and for the opportunity to share information and knowledge that will certainly help us to improve our work also in the area of Nutrition”.
He also expressed the hope and wish “that this forum will share lessons from successful international cases of hunger mitigation and effective, sustainable, and long-lasting reduction of Nanism, which will serve as an example to encourage changes in eating habits and behaviors, introducing local, organic, and biological products with high nutritional value into our diet, and, at the same time, encourage investment in the agriculture, livestock, and fisheries sectors, among others, in order to develop the country's productive potential".
The Minister stated that “The Government recognizes that food and nutritional security is closely linked to the need to eradicate poverty and to improve living conditions, constituting a fundamental basis for national development and for achieving priorities at the highest level” .
He also referred to the need “to strengthen investment, not only in Food Security programs such as the Basic Food Basket, but also in a concerted and multi-sectoral action for Nutritional Security, promoting the dissemination, socialization, and widespread knowledge of this problem, among citizens, families, authorities, partners, and organizations, public and private, that make up our populations and communities”.
This international Forum, organized by the Prime Minister's Office and the World Bank, was attended by members of the Government, of the National Parliament and of the Diplomatic Corps, of representatives of organizations and development partners, and national and foreign experts in the field of health and nutrition.
