Hamutuk is an innovative, multi-sector program bringing more than 20 organisations together to improve nutrition in Timor-Leste.
Through coordination and collaborative technologies, Hamutuk leverages the work of many sectors to address the immediate and underlying causes of malnutrition. Together with partners, our efforts have focused on a shared goal of reducing the prevalence of stunting in children under two.
On average, kids who are stunted complete 4.6 fewer grades in school than kids who aren’t.
Adults who were stunted as kids earn 21% less in adult wages than kids who weren’t.
Stunted kids face increased risk of developing chronic diseases, such as hypertension or diabetes, later in life.
Stunting is the outcome of chronic nutritional deficiency over time, causing irreversible damage to a child’s development. It’s visible when a child’s height is too low for their age. It often starts before birth and is perpetuated by poor food quality, inadequate child feeding practices, frequent infections and poor maternal health and nutrition.
In Timor-Leste, despite improvements, malnutrition remains widespread in rural and urban communities and across a range of household incomes. Nationally, around 46% of children under five are stunted — one of the highest rates in the world.
Preventing stunting has inter-generational human, social, and economic benefits for individuals, households and the nation. But to make a sustained impact for healthy future generations, we need to work better together. Evidence tells us we need to boost efforts in multiple sectors—including water, sanitation, education, family planning, agriculture, dietary diversity, child feeding and social inclusion.
Hamutuk works closely with the Government of Timor-Leste to promote concerted efforts to improve nutrition. This includes the creation of the Hamutuk nutrition resource library, the promotion of government nutrition messages among partners, and supporting the government’s monitoring and evaluation efforts. Partners also receive training and support for multi-sector nutrition activities to aid coordination across sectors.
Hamutuk’s mobile app and online platform are designed to help partners communicate, collect data, and access shared information. The online platform provides a shared dashboard for partners to view their contributions to shared goals. The app supports community-based partners at routine household visits and community events, enabling them to register household profiles, report outcomes, and share nutrition information with Hamutuk families.
The Hamutuk app enables partners to share information with communities, including a combination of information cards, videos, and questions. The content amplifies existing evidence-based behaviour change messages from the government and partners. The aim is to nudge people toward behaviours proven to improve nutrition outcomes, such as washing hands with soap, growing nutritious foods, and breastfeeding infant children until the age of two.
Using the app, our partners can collaboratively record information from communities that helps us learn about their specific needs. We can then develop future content tailored to these needs, such as information on breastfeeding for households with infants, and adapt to national and municipal governments’ latest nutrition priorities.
"Protecting, promoting, and supporting maternal, infant and young child feeding practices through mother supports groups prevents stunting. "
"Promoting male engagement facilitates better health and nutrition outcomes for households."
"Health and hygiene facilities provided to adolescent girls in school increases rates of female secondary education."
"Living in a safe and inclusive environment supports the health and nutrition outcomes of all people."
"Ensuring all children have access to education and a year round supply of quality foods will ensure good nutrition and healthy lives. "
"Family planning prevents early pregnancy and allows for healthy pregnancy timing, leading to better nutritional outcomes for mothers and their children. "
"Using multi-sector approaches, including nutrition education, small scale agriculture, and savings and loans schemes can combat malnutrition at the community level."
"Disability and nutrition are closely linked. Poor nutrition, especially among children, can lead to developmental delays and impairments which can lead to long-term disability."
"Adequate sanitation, access to safe water and good hygiene practices help prevent undernutrition, 25% of stunting is caused by repeated diarrhoea in early life."
"Behavior change SMS messages for mothers and their families promoting antenatal care, access to skilled birth attendants, and in facility births improves maternal and child health outcomes."
"Reducing poverty and hunger by improving fisheries and aquaculture. "
We're currently focusing our multi-sector initiative on Manufahi, a mountainous municipality with many geographically isolated hamlets and a large overlap of projects that can help improve nutrition. Our behaviour change initiatives are being piloted in the sub-district of Holarua.
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