AusAID-East Timor Partnership

East Timor is one of the poorest countries in the world and claims a 40 percent national poverty incidence. A former colony of three countries — Portugal, the Netherlands and, lastly, Indonesia — East Timor has not kept pace with its Asian neighbors. The struggle for independence from Indonesia destroyed infrastructure and displaced about 75 percent of the population. Gaining independence gave East Timor some national development direction and momentum, but serious challenges remain. Despite some strides in primary education and gender equality, most analysts agree that the country will fail to meet its Millennium Development Goals by 2015. Furthermore, the country’s agriculture industry is almost solely reliant on subsistence crops instead of contributing to broader socio-economic development. In 2011, the Australian Agency for International Development estimated that 80 percent of the poor are dependent on agriculture for livelihood. There are some bright spots in the country’s future. The World Bank has called East Timor’s progress “remarkable” when measured against the average time it takes for post-conflict nations to rebuild and transition out of fragility. The country improved 28 notches in the 2012 Human Development Index, advancing to 134 out of 186 countries assessed. Funding levels Australia is East Timor’s leading development partner. While development funding for its neighbor dipped in 2011 and 2012, it has picked up again in fiscal 2013. Click on image to view larger table “As the budget of East Timor has grown over the last few years, our contribution has represented a decreasing proportion of the overall resources available to the country, but still accounts for around 10 percent of the budget,” AusAID says in its Strategic Planning Agreement for Development for East Timor 2011-2014. Funding priorities Australia allocated some $1 billion in aid to East Timor since 1999, much of which was used to provide basic services that the government simply could not deliver. Now that East Timor has stabilized and is on track to leave its fragile status behind, Australia’s assistance is geared toward long-term development and the improvement of social services rather than stopgap, humanitarian measures. Click on image to view larger table As stated in the Strategic Planning Agreement for Development, among the Australian government’s funding priorities in East Timor are: - Promoting sustainable economic growth by improving food security and agricultural productivity, and developing infrastructure, particularly rural roads and water and sanitation systems. - Promoting opportunities for all by increasing access to quality education. - Saving lives by increasing access to quality health services and increasing access to safe water and sanitation. - Promoting effective governance by strengthening public sector administration and governance to ensure the public sector has the capability to provide quality services to the Timorese people and implement East Timor’s own Strategic Development Plan 2011-2030 in an effective and accountable way. One of the major AusAID projects in East Timor is the Development of Rural Roads in East Timor, where the agency pledged $30 million from 2012 to 2016. AusAID will assist East Timor in maintaining its rural road network through the Roads for Development or R4D program, which covers all 13 districts of the country. R4D is meant to be East Timor’s leading program on rural road development. Another current project, the Governance for Development Program in East Timor, is under the Governance for Development or G4D program that has AusAID working closely with the government of East Timor from 2013 to 2017 in initiatives which ensure that public service management enables economic growth and service delivery is effective and efficient. Devex analysis As East Timor continues down the path of self-determination, donors such as AusAID will focus more on building institutional capacity and governmental capability which will require international professionals and expertise. While AusAID aims to strengthen country systems and plans to work closely with the Timorese government, the agency will continue to rely on international and local NGOs and civil society, particularly for health projects and initiatives for tackling gender-based violence. AusAID’s future programming in the country will continue to focus on long-term measures that will facilitate economic development and inclusive growth. The agency will fund major infrastructure projects and assist East Timor in rebuilding and rehabilitating its road network for ease in the delivery of goods and services throughout the nation. Health projects, particularly on access to water and sanitation, will also be priorities in the next two years. AusAID’s focus on basic education programs will be evident in East Timor as it aims to significantly reduce the drop-out rate to 5 percent by 2015. Contact: AusAID East Timor Cynthia Burton, counselor, development cooperation Address: Australian Embassy, Avenida dos Martires da Patria, Dili, Timor-Leste Tel.: (670) 332-2111Fax: (670) 332-2247 Join the Devex community and access more in-depth analysis, breaking news and business advice — and a host of other services — on international development, humanitarian aid and global health.