On May 6th, 2026, at the Nicolau Lobato Presidential Palace in Dili, the Vice Minister of Social Solidarity and Inclusion, Céu Brites, presented the Conditional Mother’s Allowance Program for Maternal and Child Nutrition (Bolsa da Mãe Kondisionál ba Saúde Nutrisaun Inan no Oan – BdMK-SANUTRIO) during the national launch of the publication “Social Protection for Food Security and Nutrition: Business Case.”
The ceremony was chaired by the President of the Republic, José Ramos-Horta, in his capacity as Chair of the Global Task Force on Social Protection for Nutrition. It brought together representatives of the Government, development partners, and other national and international entities to discuss the role of nutrition-sensitive social protection in promoting food security, health, and human capital development. 
In his remarks, the President of the Republic said, “Investing in the health and nutrition of our children is the foundation of a nation’s future prosperity and dignity. No country can develop sustainably if it leaves its most vulnerable citizens behind.”
During the presentation, the Vice Minister of Social Solidarity and Inclusion highlighted progress in implementing the BdMK-SANUTRIO programme, which is currently collecting household data in the municipalities of Ermera and Covalima, and in the Special Administrative Region of Oe-Cússe Ambeno (RAEOA). The process uses the Proxy Means Test (PMT) statistical method to identify vulnerable families eligible for support.
The programme provides conditional cash transfers to pregnant women, nursing mothers, and children from birth to age three, to support regular access to health services and help to prevent malnutrition and stunted growth in children.
The initiative is led by the Ministry of Social Solidarity and Inclusion, in coordination with the Ministry of Health and the National Institute of Statistics of Timor-Leste (INETL), with technical support from the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) and funding of US$2.5 million from the Asian Development Bank (ADB) for technical assistance.
The Government has also committed US$4.8 million to the programme’s implementation over the next three years, under a memorandum of understanding with the WFP.
The publication “Social Protection for Food Security and Nutrition: Business Case,” developed with technical support from the WFP and the Institute of Development Studies, presents evidence on the economic and social benefits of investing in social protection systems focused on food security and nutrition. The document includes Timor-Leste’s experience in the section “Building on Political Will to Advance Nutrition-Sensitive Social Protection in Timor-Leste,” highlighting the SANUTRIO programme as an example of integration among social protection, maternal and child health, and stunting prevention.
The launch also featured a discussion of recent initiatives by the Global Task Force on Social Protection for Nutrition, including international knowledge-sharing exchanges and South-South cooperation to strengthen public policies on nutrition and social protection in less-developed countries and vulnerable contexts.