The Ministry of Solidarity and Social Inclusion – MSSI, through the Vice Minister, Signi Verdial, together with the technical team, presented to the President of the RAEOA Authority a law project related to the Bolsa da Mãe Program – BDM’s reform, according to which, following the plan, the BDM reform program will be tested in Oe-cússi. This presentation was made in the Office of the President of the RAEOA Authority, this Tuesday (11/24/2020).

Vice Minister Signi Verdial emphasized that MSSI will make a reform to the BDM program. This reform includes several parts, the largest of which is to ensure that the recipient is the one who needs, and not those who doesn’t deserve it. Another major change is to support mothers, from being pregnant up to 6 years of age, to ensure good nutrition for children, and thus, to ensure that they are healthy in the future and can participate in the development of our country.

Likewise, the President of the RAEOA Authority, Arsénio Paixão Bano, said: “I am very pleased with this presentation, and I believe that this is a good choice. The time has come to reform the BDM program. These reforms came at the same time that we have taken some initiatives related to this problem. Concerning malnutrition, in my opinion, the decisions to give more attention to pregnant women and accompany them until their children reach 6 years, is a good option, because it is in line with our reality. I think we have to focus on this, on pregnant women in rural areas. Whenever there is a pregnant woman in the family, her difficulties increase. So, if this program aims to support pregnant women, this is positive, and I hope it can help to reduce poverty in Oe-cússi. I am grateful that this program is carried out as a pilot program in Oe-cússi. I think there is another good reason to start here: because in the Oe-cússi Ambeno Special Administrative Region we have a structure that can help, we can put in place a mobilization program in the villages and in the community, to help the success of this program.”

“In my opinion, the reform, which proposes to increase the budget from US$ 15 to US$ 20, will make a big difference, firstly because it pays more attention to pregnant women, and secondly because it will support children up to 6 years old, since it is during this period that babies most need their mothers’ support, in terms of nutrition. We must not forget that in Oe-cússi there are many problems of malnutrition, and the formation of the child’s body starts right from conception, in the mother’s womb and has a critical phase until the age of 6, before entering school ” added the president.

Arsénio Bano also said that “in the presentation, we also talked about the evaluation, monitoring and programming, and this is good, because the current BDM program still lack of that dimension and it is necessary to reinforce and improve evaluation and monitoring. However, I think that if we are going to pilot of this reform in Oe-cússi, we cannot expect to see results in the first year, we have to wait, because the results will only start to appear three years from now. That’s when we will be able to see the influence of these measures on the beneficiaries.

I hope that the central government will support the policies of the MSSI in the development of this reform, and as President of RAEOA, I am pleased that Oe-cússi has been appointed for the pilot reform of BDM. I am confident, because MSSI has many years of experience in the BDM program. Oe-cússi is ready and willing to work together with this program, and I have information that the Australian Government is willing to support this program technically, especially in supporting pregnant women.

For his part, the Representative of the Ambassador of Australia – (Counsellor for Human Development), Charli Shilito said that the Government of Australia was delighted to be able to work together with the Government of Timor-Leste and civil society on children’s affairs. The Government of Australia was pleased to be able to work with MSSI and RAEOA to implement the BDM pilot program, especially with regard to the reform of this program, because this is very important for children in reducing stunting and poverty reduction, as well as supporting safe childbirth for pregnant women. For this reason, we have a great commitment to continue this pilot program and, thus, in the future we can successfully develop it and implement it in all municipalities.

In addition, the Regional Secretary for Education and Social Solidarity of RAEOA, Avelina da Costa, expressed her sense of pride that the Government has decided to choose RAEOA as one of the places for the celebration of this World Children’s Day.

“But it is important to note that many children in the RAEOA still do not enjoy their true rights, particularly when we talk about the children’s rights convention. Many children still do not have the right to education and health, so I feel that RAEOA deserves to be the chosen place to celebrate World Children’s Day. Therefore, I ask teachers, parents and everyone to respect your children, to give attention to your children, ensuring that they have time to learn and prepare something for Timor-Leste future as a nation”, said Avelina da Costa.