Press Release

Helder Lopes has spent the past two years a very long way from his home in Los Palos. He has been studying at Michigan State University in the U.S. on a scholarship from USAID's Training Future Leaders program. Mr. Lopes has just graduated, earning his Master's Degree in Agriculture, Food, and Resource Economics. Now Mr. Lopes has come back to Timor-Leste to start a new and exciting phase in his career.

Today Timor-Leste gains a new partner in two top priority development areas: fighting corruption and improving children's health. A special ceremony today at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs highlights a new program with the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC). MCC will provide financial and technical support from the Government of the United States of America to help the Government of Timor-Leste build a strong coalition to fight corruption and boost immunization rates for children across the country.

US Deputy Chief of Mission Jonathan Henick launched the 2009-2010 Timor-Leste Demographic and Health Survey (DHS) in December 2010. The survey, funded primarily by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), provides data from more than 11,000 household interviews conducted across the country. The 2009-2010 DHS provides a rich and expanded source of detailed information, building on earlier surveys that were more limited in scope.

Music fans can relive MTV EXIT's Dili concert when TVTL airs the new 1-hour special about the concert and MTV's anti-trafficking campaign at 8:30 pm on Saturday, August 7. The special show features music from the concert and important information about what trafficking is, how it affects the people of Timor-Leste, and what someone can do if they think trafficking is happening in their community.

Australia announces that it will work with the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Mission in Timor-Leste to increase its support for tackling health issues in the areas of maternal/child health, reproductive health including family planning, and safe pregnancy in Timor-Leste.

The new AusAID-USAID partnership will work to improve health care in two areas: increasing access to maternal and child health and family planning services improving the quality of those services.

The first-ever MTV concert held in Timor-Leste kicked-off the new, USAID-funded MTV EXIT anti-trafficking campaign last Friday night, June 25th. An estimated 20,000 people packed the city-center venue, about 15% of Dili's total population, for what was a lively, fun and trouble-free event. For the majority of young people, it was the first time they had attended a concert of this scale.

Funded by USAID, MTV EXIT's anti-trafficking campaign in Timor-Leste kicks off today with “MTV EXIT Live in Dili”, a massive, free concert featuring Timor-Leste’s top artists as well as Indonesia megastars, Superman is Dead (S.I.D.). The concert is the first event in the nationwide initiative to fight human trafficking through a series of campaign activities and television programs.

The MTV EXIT campaign today announced the launch of a nationwide initiative to fight human trafficking through a unique series of events and television programs. The campaign will kick-off with “MTV EXIT Live in Dili”, a massive, free concert on June 25 featuring performances by Timor Leste’s top artists as well as Indonesia megastars, Superman is Dead (S.I.D.).

(June 10, 2009)

The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and ConocoPhillips signed today a memorandum of understanding to replicate the state-of-the-art greenhouse technology, currently showcased in Lequitura in the highland district of Aileu, in two more locations in Timor-Leste. This landmark agreement heralds a new era of partnership between the private and public sectors in Timor-Leste in support of the Government's goal to enhance agricultural productivity, which is in turn crucial for improving food security and providing livelihoods for rural Timorese.

(June 1, 2009)

On June 1, 2009, U.S. Ambassador Hans Klemm and USAID Representative Mark Anthony White were joined by former Minister of Education Armindo Maia (representing National University of Timor-Leste -- UNTL -- Rector Benjamin Corte-Real), and Director-General for Higher Education Abrão dos Santos, in inaugurating the e-Learning Centers at two UNTL campuses in the capital Dili.