Comunicado - Concern

Date: 20 Jun 2006

Concern worldwide Timor Leste's response

The Government of Timor Leste (RDTL) is leading the response to the crisis. The ministry of Labour and Community Reinsertion and the Ministry of Health are actively responding to the situation with other organisations.

Concern has existing partnerships with Government ministries and will ensure that all programme responses are coordinated and planned with Ministry support.

Recognising that the current crisis will take time to resolve, Concern's work will take security considerations into account, flexibly responding to the evolving situation, ensuring that staff are fully briefed and aware of security issues.

Concern Worldwide has been given the task of facilitating humanitarian and security assistance to Internally Displaced camps in Dili.

Concern has responsibility in four camps with a total population of 12,597. This arrangement will require Concern staff working closely with the camp management structure organized by the government in the assessment of ongoing activities, identification of humanitarian gaps and prioritisation of outstanding needs, security and protection issues relevant to the well-being of camp residents.

Emergency Health and Nutrition Assistance

Children under five years of age, pregnant and lactating women and the disabled are the ones who are most exposed to risks as result of inadequate food intake. Poor hygiene and sanitation in camps increase the risk of disease.

In cooperation with the Ministry of Health, special attention will be given to the vulnerable groups through blanketed supplementary feeding initially. After that stage, a nutrition will be conducted to assess the groups with greater needs.

This project will also reach out for villagers who have not been able to move out of their homes. The programme will adopt Concern's Community Therapeutic Care (CTC) for acute malnutrition in the camp and in villages around Dili.

Psychosocial Support Initiatives

Concern will provide recreational, sports and cultural opportunities for children and young adults in the camps. Concern will assist efforts by partners and local NGOs in providing more structured psychosocial activities in the camps. This will enable people staying in the camps to come to terms with their anger and fears and help improve the overall tense atmosphere in the camps.

Restarting Livelihoods

Concern has joined the World Food Programme (WFP) in a rapid Food Security Assessment in Dili to assess the impact of the current conflict on the livelihoods and coping strategies of the people affected by the conflict.

Concern will undertake a similar survey in the two districts of Lautem and Manufahi where it is operating a poverty reduction programme, again with WFP.

Supporting Partners

Many of Concern's existing partners as well as other NGOs want to help address the plight of IDPs by providing direct services to them in terms of food and nutrition, medical assistance, conflict resolution, among others. NGOs are particularly concerned that the focus of ongoing assistance are with IDPs in the camps while the households who have had no chance to leave their homes and are now unable to undertake their usual livelihoods are being left out.

Following a meeting organized by Concern with local NGOs, the NGO Forum is hosting meetings of its membership to plan how local NGOs can actively perform their role in helping address the current crisis and in building a durable peace for Timor Leste and to ensure that these initiatives are coordinated with the overall response.

Local NGOs need financial support to be able to actively pursue their plans for helping with the current crisis with on-going and planned interventions in health, peace building, psycho social activities and health and sanitation promotion.