NTT (part 4)

(Baca Versi Bahasa Indonesia

GENERAL OVERVIEW
NUTRITION AND FOOD SECURITY
ACCESS TO WATER

Recommendations

The population of the two assessed districts is affected by a large number of natural and structural constraints. Life conditions of the population are not only far below the national standards, but do not even reach some of the SPHERE standards, usually applied for refugee camps. Obvious efforts are being made by both central and local governments to halve poverty in NTT, but they might be insufficient to improve the situation on the short term. Action Contre la Faim hence considers a mid-term intervention in NTT as necessary.

Recommendation for TTS
ACF has identified chronic malnutrition as the main problem in TTS, with serious risks of sudden degradation of the chronic food insecurity, affecting in turn the overall nutrition situation. Based on the Conceptual framework of the causes of malnutrition and mortality ACF has identified three underlying causes of the chronic malnutrition affecting TTS:

• Unbalanced/irregular diet related to limited access to food (low and not diversified production), poor nutritional knowledge
• Chronic poverty linked with low incomes capacities; poor access to market, low production, exhaustion of alternative sources of income
• High prevalence of water-related diseases

To tackle these causes, ACF recommend the three following axis of intervention:

• The food production sector will be strengthened trough agricultural support to most vulnerable families.
• The economical sector will be strengthened trough the development of incomes generating activities.
• Improve in a sustainable way the water access and/or quality, and the hygiene knowledge and practices

In addition, ACF recommends that all activities should be accompanied by workshops and training targeting both civil society bodies and governmental authorities in order to make them as sustainable as possible, and maximize the local capacity building.

Recommendation for Alor
Four potential axes of intervention may be developed in the future. Those axes were already identified during the first assessment done in 2006 and confirmed during the comprehensive assessment of early 2007.

• To secure the production of staple food through enhancing crop diversification and rehabilitating fertility of the soils
• To improve productivity and profitability of cash crop productions
• Identification of constraints faced by the fishing sector and solutions to tackle some of its limits
• To reduce risks and prevalence of water-related diseases, and more generally to reduce risks of infant morbidity and/or mortality

In addition, ACF recommends the implementation of further assessments in South West area of Alor and East and South of Pantar Island, since these areas were highly vulnerable in terms of water according to some of the stakeholders met in Alor, but could not be assessed because of lack of time.

PICTURES

Writer : FoodSec and Watsan Department
Editor : Erma Maghfiroh
Translator : Erma Maghfiroh