Rezultadu husi Global Hunger Index 2020 kredivel ka lae?

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Relatóriu Índise Hamlaha Globál (Global Hunger Index – GHI) 2020 hamosu debate no diskusaun iha media no sosiedade sivíl, tanba tuir rezultadu husi relatóriu nee haktuir katak Timor-Leste nia númeru malnutrisaun aas liu kompara ho nasaun sira seluk. Artigu badak ne’e ho objetivu atu esplika konteúdu relatóriu no fó sujestaun balun oinsá Timor-Leste bele rezolve problema malnutrisaun iha Timor-Leste. Relatóriu GHI públika husi NGO internasionál rua: Welte Hunger Hilfe no Concern Worldwide, ne’ebé uza dadus husi UNICEF, WHO, no ajénsia ONU seluk. Ajénsia hirak ne’e mós hetan dadus husi relatóriu ofisiál Governu Timor-Leste nian.

Relatóriu estudu ne’e foka ba aspetu haat: persentajen husi populasaun ne’ebé enfrenta nutrisaun menus (undernourished); persentajen husi labarik ho idade menus husi tinan lima isin ra’es badak (stunted); labarik ho isin krekas (wasted), no taxa mortalidade labarik sira ho idade menus husi tinan 5 (mortality rate). Depois halibur dadus hotu husi kada nasaun, peskizadór sira halo kalkulasaun atu hatene valór komparativu. Valór final kompostu husi nivel mate sedu no nutrisaun menus fó kontribuisaun boot liu kompara ho nivel isin ra’es badak no isin krekas ka isin-ki’ik.

Rezultadu final fó valór ba kada nasaun. Valór ho númeru 0 signifika nasaun ida ne’e la hasoru hamlaha, no valór besik númeru 100 signifika katak populasaun tomak hamlaha. Timor-Leste hetan valor 37.6, nee katak iha nasaun ida de’it (nasaun Chad, iha Áfrika) ne’ebá hetan valór aas liu. Tanba ne’e, Timor-Leste tama iha kategoria “alarming” ka tenke hetan atensaun sériu. Iha nasaun balun, ne’ebé la hetan valór, tanba dadus la iha inklui nasaun balun ne’ebé hasoru hela konflitu no krize boot hanesan Iemen no Síria. Maski nune’e, rezultadu hatudu katak husi nasaun 107 ne’ebé iha dadus, iha nasaun ida de’it mak iha situasaun grave liu duke Timor-Leste.

Informasaun husi relatóriu ida ne’e la’ós buat foun liga ho situasaun iha Timor-Leste. Ita hatene ona katak problema nutrisaun nudár problema nasionál no presiza entidade hotu nia atensaun. Tuir dadus TLDHS (Timor-Leste Demographic and Health Survey) 2016, 13% de’it husi labarik ho idade fulan 6 to’o fulan 23 hetan ai-han ho nutrisaun ne’ebé sufisiente (tuir “minimal acceptable diet”). Problema nutrisaun la’ós de’it ba labarik sira; dadus TLDHS mós hatudu katak 23% husi feto ho idade tinan 15-49 enfrenta mós anemia.

Relatóriu Índise Hamlaha Global 2020 relata dadus balu diferente ho dadus TLDHS nian, maibé refleta nafatin TLDHS nia informasaun kona ba problema malnutrisaun ne’ebé aas iha Timor-Leste. Tabela tuir mai hatudu diferensa entre dadus ne’ebé GHI uza atu kalkula valor Timor-Leste, no dadus husi TLDHS 2016.

Diferensa entre dadus TLDHS no estatístika ne’ebé uza iha GHI la signifika katak rezultadu GHI nian la kredivel. La’o Hamutuk hafoin lee relatóriu GHI, kontaktu ba peskizadór sira iha GHI, hodi konfirma kona ba dadus ne’ebé sira uza. Tuir esplikasaun husi GHI, dadus ne’ebé relatóriu ne’e uza mai husi UNICEF, Banku Mundial, no Organizasaun Saúde Mundial (OMS/WHO) ne’ebé halibur iha database JME (Joint Malnutrition Estimates), no database Banku Mundial nian kona ba nutrisaun labarik nian. GHI analiza dadus ne’e, no refere mós ba estatístika ka dadus seluk ne’ebé fó impaktu mós ba labarik ho nivel isin ra’es badak no labarik ho isin krekas. Sira uza ona modelu analiza ida ne’e durante tinan 5, no haree katak modelu refere bele fó estimasaun ne’ebé loos. Se karik sira uza dadus TLDHS nian de’it, rezultadu sei hatudu katak situasaun Timor-Leste nian sei aat liu fali; katak Timor-Leste bele hetan valór to 41.4 bainhira uza de’it dadus husi TLDHS, kompara ho valór 37.6 ne’ebé mai husi metodolojia GHI nian. Entaun bazeia ba fonte dadus rua ne’e, situasaun ne’ebé Timor-Leste hasoru sériu tebes.

Hare ba realidade, povu barak iha Timor-Leste seidauk asesu ba ai-han ne’ebé ho nutritivu, liu-liu labarik sira, la hetan ai-han sufisiente ho nutrisaun di’ak. Situasaun ne’e kria impaktu todan ba ita nia labarik sira jerasaun futuru nasaun nian. Aleinde la asesu ba ai-han di’ak, iha mós problema ho sira nia saúde, edukasaun, produtividade, kapasidade no família iha futuru. Situasaun no problema hirak ne’e susar atu rezolve no kompleksu tebes. Disponibilidade ai-han nutritivu menus tanba produsaun iha rai laran ladún sai prioridade no depende maka’as ba konsumu foos duke diversidade ai-han, kustu ai-han di’ak ho nutritivu ne’ebé karun. [referensia]

Iha Timor-Leste, so 25% husi populasaun de’it iha asesu ba ai-han ne’ebé seguru. [referensia] Moras hanesan diaréia bele kauza nutrisaun menus. Diaréia hetan impaktu husi falta bee mós no fasilidade saneamentu; bazeia ba DHS 2016, 50% de’it husi uma kain iha Timor-Leste bele asesu ba fasilidade saneamentu ne’ebé di’ak, signifika katak sira uza sentina ho tanke séptiku (pit latrine), no 58% de’it husi uma-kain iha area rurál hetan asesu ba bee moos iha sira nia uma ka besik sira nia hela fatin.

Hodi responde no hadi’ak situasaun ne’e presiza investimentu ba saneamentu no bee mós nudár fatór importante tebes. Promove no konsumu ai-han lokál ne’ebé ho variedade diversifikadu, promove setór peska no akuakultura atu fornese ikan ho folin baratu ba komunidade. Halo tuir rekomendasaun husi Ministériu Saúde kona-ba dieta saudavel ka han ai-han lokál ne’ebé ita kuda rasik iha rai laran (hanesan ai-han hodi fó forsa (enerjia) hanesan fehuk, talas, foos, lakeru nsst, ai-han hodi haburas hanesan ikan, manu tolun, koto no fore sira no ai-han ba protesaun hanesan modo no ai-fuan sira). 

La’o Hamutuk kontinua ezije ema hotu iha Timor-Leste, inklui autoridade kompetente sira, tenke servisu hamutuk hodi luta kontra malnutrisaun. Maske ita bele debate númeru barak iha relatóriu sira, ita hotu tenke koko, ho meta klaru no planu realistíku, atu hadi’ak problema nutrisaun iha rai doben ida ne’e.

How credible is the 2020 Global Hunger Index?

Liga ba artigu ida ne'e iha Tetum

The 2020 Global Hunger Index (GHI) report has sparked debate and discussion in the media and civil society, partly because the report says that Timor-Leste’s malnutrition is among the highest in the world. This article aims to explain the report’s findings and suggests how Timor-Leste can overcome malnutrition. 

The GHI report was published by two international NGOs, Welte Hunger Hilfe and Concern Worldwide, and draws on data from UNICEF, the WHO and other UN agencies. In turn, those agencies used national-level data from the Government of Timor-Leste.

The report focuses on four dimensions of hunger and malnutrition: the percentage of the total population who are undernourished; the percentage of children under five years old who are stunted; the percentage of children under five years old who are wasted; and the rate of child mortality. After collecting relevant data from each nation, the researchers processed and analyzed the data so that results can be compared among countries. Each nation’s final value consists of rates of child mortality and overall malnutrition (which contribute the majority of the score), and rates of wasting and stunting.

The final results give a score to each country. A score of zero means that a nation has absolutely no malnutrition or hunger, while a score of 100 signifies that a nation has universal hunger. Timor-Leste received a score of 37.6, with only one nation - Chad - receiving a higher (worse) score. The report therefore notes that Timor-Leste faces an ‘alarming’ situation requiring serious action. Although some countries were not scored because of lack of data (including some in the midst of conflict and crises such as Yemen and Syria), the results demonstrate that of the 107 countries with sufficient data, only one faces a situation more grave than Timor-Leste.

The information contained in the report isn’t surprising. We already know that malnutrition here is a national problem that demands everyone’s attention. The Timor-Leste Demographic and Health Survey (DHS) in 2016 showed that only 13% of infants between 6 and 23 months old receive the minimal acceptable diet. The problem of malnutrition is not limited to children; the DHS also showed that 23% of women aged 15-49 suffer anemia. 

The GHI 2020 uses data that differ from the DHS, but broadly reflect the same malnutrition problems. The table at right shows the differences between the data used in the GHI to calculate Timor-Leste’s score, and data from the 2016 DHS.

The differences between DHS data and the data used in the GHI do not mean that the GHI results are not credible. La’o Hamutuk contacted the researchers who prepared the GHI report, to confirm how they obtained the data used. They explained that they use the UNICEF, World Bank and WHO data compiled in the Joint Malnutrition Estimates database, and the World Bank’s database on child nutrition. GHI then analyzed this data, and also referred to other indicators that are known to reflect levels of stunting and wasting. GHI has been using this model for five years and they are confident that it is accurate. If they had used DHS data directly, this would have shown Timor-Leste’s malnutrition problem to be even worse; using DHS data, Timor-Leste would receive a score of 41.4, compared to 37.6 it receives using the GHI data. Whichever data source is used, it is clear that people in Timor-Leste face a very serious situation.

The reality is that many Timorese people, especially children, do not have access to enough nutritious food. This situation has a grave impact on the next generation. Lack of proper nutrition has consequences for their future health, education, productivity and capacity. This situation is complex and not easy to resolve. The availability of nutritious food is exacerbated because agricultural production is not a national priority, by reliance on rice consumption and lack of food diversity, and by the prohibitive cost of nutritious foods [reference].

In Timor-Leste, only 25% of the population lives with food security [reference]. Health conditions such as diarrhea also impact nutrition. Diarrhea is often caused by unavailability of clean water and sanitation; according to the 2016 DHS, only 50% of households have access to improved sanitation facilities (a toilet or a pit latrine), and only 58% of people in rural areas have access to potable water (which can be made safe to drink by boiling) in or close to their homes.

To address this serious situation, Timor-Leste must invest adequately in water and sanitation. We should promoting production and consumption of diverse local foods, including fishing and aquaculture to make fish available and affordable. The Ministry of Health has published recommendations about healthy diets based on foods that can be grown locally, including foods for energy such as yams, taro, rice and pumpkins; proteins such as fish, eggs, and beans; and immune-system-building foods such as healthy greens and fruits.

La’o Hamutuk continues to urge everyone, including the relevant authorities, to work together to combat malnutrition. Although we may debate the numbers in different reports, we all need to work with a clear goal and realistic plan so that more people in our beloved nation are better nourished.