Community Nutrition Intervention to Reduce Child Stunting in Rural Timor-Leste
Keywords:
child stunting, community nutrition intervention, Timor-Leste, dietary diversity, malnutrition, community serviceAbstract
Child stunting remains one of the most pervasive and devastating forms of malnutrition in Timor-Leste, affecting nearly half of all children under five years of age. This community service-research study reports the design, implementation, and outcomes of a six-month participatory nutrition intervention conducted across three rural subdistricts—Ermera, Ainaro, and Manufahi—engaging 64 households with children aged six to 59 months. The program integrated responsive feeding counselling, agricultural homestead food production, micronutrient supplementation, and community health worker capacity building within a culturally adapted, co-designed framework developed in partnership with village councils, traditional birth attendants, and local health post personnel. Using a quasi-experimental pre-test/post-test design with a matched control group, the study measured changes in anthropometric indices, dietary diversity, and haemoglobin levels. Results indicate significant reductions in stunting prevalence within the intervention group (from 73.4% to 51.6%) compared to negligible change in the control group, alongside marked improvements in dietary diversity scores and mid-upper arm circumference. These findings underscore the efficacy of contextually grounded, multi-component nutrition interventions in high-burden, resource-constrained settings.
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