COVID-19 response: connecting mothers and families in rural Timor-Leste

A mobile application is helping mothers and their families living in remote and rural communities in Timor-Leste stay safe during the COVID-19 pandemic.

This is how we’re using the Liga Inan text messaging service as part of our COVID-19 crisis response, and what it could mean for children in poverty in the future.

How we’re using text messages to prevent the spread of COVID-19 in vulnerable communities

The Liga Inan text messaging service has been used by ChildFund Timor-Leste to send information to mothers in hard-to-reach regions about maternal and child health. Now, it is being used to educate families about the deadly virus.

ChildFund Timor-Leste’s Health Project Coordinator Ninivia (pictured below), who is helping to adapt the service to prevent the spread of COVID-19 in vulnerable regions in Timor-Leste, says pregnant women and mothers who have registered for the platform are now receiving COVID-19 alerts on their phones.

This project is supported by the Australian Government through the Australian NGO Cooperation Program (ANCP).

What do the text messages say about COVID-19?

The messages are about how to prevent the spread of the virus, and how to identify and treat symptoms, and are based on the advice and information distributed by Timor-Leste’s Ministry of Health and the World Health Organisation.

“Handwashing is the one of the main messages that has been sent out,” she says. “There are also messages about the importance of social and physical distancing, and how to identify the common symptoms of the virus. There are also messages focused on best practice for pregnant and lactating mothers during the COVID situation, like whether or not to continue breastfeeding if they are sick.”

Why remote areas in Timor-Leste are more heavily impacted by the virus

Ninivia says she is worried about the spread of the virus in remote areas because Timor-Leste does not have the resources to cope with an outbreak.

“We don’t have enough equipment yet or enough facilities if the outbreak happens across the country,” she says. “It would be a huge challenge not only for the Ministry of Health, but also for the INGOs like ChildFund to support the government and communities in an outbreak. Health facilities in our country are quite limited, especially in rural communities.

“Even in metropolitan hospitals there is a lack of equipment like ventilators, so if an outbreak occurred in rural areas the communities there would struggle to find support.”