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As the global pandemic continues to impact millions of lives around the world, ChildFund is working with the Timor-Leste Ministry of Health to make sure communities in remote and rural areas can access the vaccine and stay safe from COVID-19.

As of August 2021, Timor-Leste reported 11,100 cases of COVID-19 and 26 recorded deaths. Case numbers continue to rise every day.

When the AstraZeneca vaccine was developed, the country relied on international aid to provide enough doses to vaccinate their entire population. Earlier this year, with support from the Australian Government, they began distributing the vaccine to frontline healthcare and essential workers.

The vaccine was then rolled out to people in densely populated areas of the capital, Dili, before being distributed to remote and rural communities.

As part of its nutrition programs, ChildFund Timor-Leste is supporting the country’s Ministry of Health to vaccinate communities in disadvantaged, remote and rural communities in Lautem municipality.

Those who live in rural areas tend to be more hesitant about the vaccine. ChildFund is working with government partners on a public health campaign to make sure that these communities have access to reliable information about COVID-19, to dispel any misinformation about the vaccine, and to raise awareness about why the vaccine is so important for families to stay safe.

ChildFund has been helping to transport health professionals to remote areas to share information about the vaccine. ChildFund is also supporting government partners in the planning and logistics of vaccinating large numbers of people in these communities.

Paulino da Costa, ChildFund Health Assistant in Lautem, says they are still facing some challenges.

“When we approached people door-to-door many people told us they did not want to receive the vaccine,” she says. “This was due to the misinformation. But after we explained the benefits of the vaccine to them, and showed them some of the data, some of them agreed to get vaccinated.”

ChildFund has helped Timor-Leste’s Ministry of Health distribute vaccines in Iliomar and Lautem – with 11,562 people receiving their first dose and 970 people having received both doses.   

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

When the water started seeping in under the door, Madalena froze in fear. She sat stiff in her chair, cradling her five-year-old daughter Anisa (both pictured above) on her lap, as her husband, niece and nephews looked for sandbags to block the water.

“I just sat quietly and prayed,” Madalena says. “I was stressed. We were losing hope.”

Torrential rainfall over the Easter weekend led to widespread flash flooding and landslides in the nation’s capital of Dili. Madalena, a ChildFund project officer, is one of more than 11,000 people whose homes were destroyed or severely damaged as a result.

More than 40 people died in the natural disaster, which also caused significant destruction to roads and bridges in Dili and surrounding areas. “We had no electricity and all our firewood was wet,” Madalena says. “We did not have clean water to cook and for two days we were not able to shower.”

As the weather worsened during Easter Sunday, Madalena’s neighbours began evacuating, but Madalena and her family remained, terrified that thieves would raid their home if they left.

As the water rose knee-deep, the family moved some of their belongings to higher places, such as on top of furniture, but could not save everything.

“A sack of rice, our refrigerator, wardrobe, books, rice cooker, toilet and beds were all destroyed,” Madalena says.

Other than a small plastic Hello Kitty guitar and bubble blower, Madalena’s daughter Anisa also lost her toys and storybooks.

ChildFund Timor-Leste field staff Madalena and daughter Anisa, age 5.
ChildFund field staff Madalena and daughter Anisa, age 5. Madalena and her family’s home was destroyed when floods hit Timor-Leste over the Easter weekend 2021.

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