On March 21st, 2024, the Government of Timor-Leste, in collaboration with the Government of Chile, the intergovernmental organisation g7+, the Institute of Development Studies (IDS) and the World Food Programme (WFP), organised an event in New York on the sidelines of the 68th Session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW). The theme was “Caring for Change: The Role of Social Protection in Providing Gender-Equitable Care for Nutrition and Hunger Eradication”.
During the event, which included a video speech by the President of the Republic, José Ramos-Horta, Vice Minister of Social Solidarity and Inclusion, Céu Brites, presented the national experience in integrating gender measures into social protection programmes, especially in the fight against malnutrition, poverty and vulnerability. The Permanent Representative of Timor-Leste to the United Nations in New York, Ambassador Dionisio Babo Soares, moderated the debate and opened and closed the event.
Céu Brites, in her speech, said that “Timor-Leste has a comprehensive social protection system made up of 28 programmes”, which “serve various objectives, coordinated by the different ministries, including protecting citizens against socio-economic risks, preventing poverty, mitigating crises, developing human capital, accessing essential services and promoting peace and social cohesion”.
In addition to discussing the various programmes of the Ministry of Social Security and Inclusion (MSSI), such as “old age pension, pension for people with disabilities, maternity/paternity allowance and survivor’s pension”, “universal cash transfers for the elderly and people with disabilities”, “Mother’s Allowance (Bolsa da Mãe) programme”, among other humanitarian and social support for vulnerable individuals and families”, the Vice-Minister highlighted the Ministry of Education’s supervision of programmes “such as School Meals and scholarships” and the Ministry of Health’s management of “the national health system, the integrated community health service (SISCA) and Family Health”.
Among these programmes, the Vice Minister highlighted the Mother’s Allowance (Bolsa da Mãe) Programme, established in 2008. This programme aims to support vulnerable and poor families through cash transfers to support their children’s basic and secondary education. By 2023, the programme registered almost 42,000 primary caregivers, 88% of whom are female heads of household. In 2023, nearly 76,000 children, including children with disabilities, from vulnerable and low-income families received their programme allowances.
Céu Brites highlighted the 9th Constitutional Government’s efforts to “improve and strengthen the Mother’s Allowance Conditional Programme” and the commitment “to consolidate the implementation of the National Social Protection Strategy, including the development of the Social Protection Framework Law”, as well as to “re-evaluate the relevant legislation and the operational manuals of the social pension schemes, and continue to improve gender social protection measures, in particular the role of women as caregivers”.
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