News Update

Limited human resources is one of the main challenges faced by Timor-Leste’s justice and accountability institutions. To address this, USAID’s Justice Institutions Strengthening Project launched an Administration and Office Management Training course on February 28, 2011. Sixty-two newly recruited staff of the Court of Appeal and the Anti-Corruption Commission will learn administration processes, office management, ethics and record keeping.

A draft National Sanitation Policy is expected to go to the Council of Ministers for approval this week. The landmark policy was supported by USAID, working with AusAID, to focus efforts by the government to meet Millennium Development Goals, particularly increased access to basic sanitation. An MDG assessment last year characterized efforts to reach the 2015 goal of 60% access to basic sanitation as "off track." The 2009-2010 Demographic and Health Survey showed that only 43% of Timor-Leste's population has access to basic sanitation.

For the first time in any country, the US military's Pacific Partnership medical specialists will provide a range of medical services at USAID-supported village-level clinics in Timor-Leste. In addition to clinic support in larger cities, Pacific Partnership teams expect to set up in Iliomar, Uato Carabau, Zumalai and Ainaro. These medical services will be part of the 2011 Pacific Partnership visit in June. The USAID-supported community clinics are part of the Ministry of Health's Integrated Community Health Services (SISCa) project. USAID's Health Team Leader, Dr.

The MTV EXIT campaign today announced plans to hold a live concert in the eastern city of Baucau on October 9 featuring performances by Timor Leste’s top artists as well as Indonesian megastars, Tipe-X. The free concert will be the 2nd event held in Timor-Leste as part of the MTV EXIT campaign which aims to educate youth about the dangers of human trafficking. The Baucau concert follows MTV EXIT’s successful first event in Dili on June 25 which attracted over 20,000 local music fans.

A USAID-funded training program has placed more than 70% of its graduates in new jobs: 42 young people have started full-time work in the tourism and hospitality industry after 6 months of classroom and on-the-job training. The program is the first to set training standards agreed between Timor-Leste government and industry representatives. Acting USAID Mission Director Cheryl A. Williams congratulated the students and Vice Prime Minister Jose Luis Guterres lauded them as pioneers in one of the government's non-petroleum focus sectors.

USAID's media project has opened a Regional Media House in Timor-Leste's second largest city, Baucau. The launch featured a three-day training course for journalists from local radio stations as part of the media project's activities to serve rural media outlets and increase the flow of information to people outside of the capital. Day one focused on Media Rights and was led by the new USAID-sponsored Media Law legal expert who will focus on advocacy with journalists, to support the passage of a Media Law that will allow them to work without the threat of intimidation.
March 22, 2010

USAID launched its work readiness program in two more districts in Timor-Leste’s highlands, with over 100 unemployed, minimally educated youth participating. The "Preparing Youth for Work" program is a $5 million, three-year program that will benefit 2,500 out-of-school youth through integrated working and learning experiences. In groups of 50, youth participants work together for eight months in Timor-Leste’s districts, outside the capital, Dili. Over 100 youth are already completing the first phase of the program in the eastern district of Baucau.

In observance of the World Anti-Corruption Day, the Provedor’s Office (Ombudsman for Justice and Human Rights) launched its anti-corruption public education campaign in a ceremony held in the capital Dili. Drama programs raising public awareness on corruption issues and promoting national effort to address the problem will soon be aired on television and radio. This public education campaign is supported by USAID through the Justice Institutions Strengthening Project, implemented by Management Sciences for Development, Inc.

Following a 2007 agreement to co-fund the “Strengthening Independent Media Program in Timor-Leste”, AusAID is providing an additional contribution of Aus$500,000 to the project, bringing AusAID’s total contribution to Aus$1.25 milion (approximately $1.1 million). The program was originally a two-year, approximately $2 million project but was recently extended for three additional years with a total budget of $5.5 million.

A total of 3,600 internally displaced persons (IDPs) have vacated the Dom Bosco camp, the largest of 15 IDP camps managed by USAID through the Catholic Relief Services. With this latest return of IDPs, a total number of 6,500 IDP families have received a recovery or reintegration package under the government’s National Recovery Strategy program.