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a large portion of them being students. Secondly, according to the same document, there are 458,000 people below the age of 14 years of age, implying that within the next 10-20
years, Timor-Leste will have a very substantial inflow of jobseekers The stimulation of economic activity through Government expenditures will translate to job
creation in Timor-Leste. The 2014 State budget guarantees sufficient funding for the financing of the Government wage bill. This includes a number of additional civil servants
that will be hired andor become permanent staff in 2014, as detailed in the expenditure section.
The State budget also contains a substantial amount for infrastructure development throughout the country. These projects have the potential to create, overall, an estimated
16,000 direct jobs
8
. In addition, a number of indirect jobs will be created, although estimating these becomes very complicated given the unpredictable nature of the results of
new infrastructure and a scarcity of data available at this point.
2.3.2.5: Millennium Development Goals
The Millennium Development Goals MDGs consist of several broad goals measured by a series of economic and social indicators
, hi h oughl t a k a gi e ou t s de elop e t path. This section will provide an overview, using the latest available data of each of the
MDGs and related statistics. Eradicate Extreme Poverty and Hunger
In terms of poverty, the 2007 Timor-Leste Living Standards Survey indicated that 49.9 of Timorese people lived under the national poverty line of 0.88 per day. The incidence of
poverty, as measured by the World Bank in 2010, decreased to around 41. This decrease was largely attributed to post-2007 growth. Efforts are underway to obtain a more recent
estimation of poverty in Timor-Leste which can be directly compared to the figure derived
from the 2007 TLSLS.
With ega ds to hu ge , the Go e e t s o je ti e as to achieve food security and
sustainability by 2014. A pronounced increase in both the production and productivity of both rice and maize occurred in 2012 compared to 2011. This number, however, remained
below the production and productivity levels of 2010.
Regarding the prevalence of hunger not enough food and malnutrition deficiency of appropriate nutrients in Timor-Leste, the 2009-2010 Demographic Health Survey indicated
that 53 of all the children under 5 were stunted and 33 were severely stunted. It also stated that 52 of the children under five were underweight. More recent data is not
available. This is likely to be highly correlated with the production, distribution and price of food - all issues that the Government views as high-priority. Other likely contributing factors
8
NDPE Estimation based on both country case studies and preliminary figures from Timor-Leste Data Collection Survey on Pragmatic Framework Study of Labour Force Plan
– JICA.
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are poor education regarding the benefits of nutrition, as well as cultural attitudes, such as
the overemphasis on staples. Universal Primary Enrolment
In terms of the goal of universal primary school enrolment, there has been a marked improvement in primary enrolment rates. In 2007, the Timor-Leste Standard of Living Survey
estimated a net enrolment rate of 65.6. In 2009, the Ministry of Education estimated a net primary enrolment rate of 82.7 with a girls-to-boys ratio of 0.92. The 2011 Household
Income and Expenditure Survey gave the net enrolment rate to be 84.7. Additionally, it is noteworthy that, according to the Household Income and Expenditure Survey 2011, the net
enrolment rates are higher for female than for male in both primary and especially secondary education.
Promote Gender Equality and Empower Women
Furthermore, in terms of gender equality, the percentage of seats occupied by women in Pa lia e t o e eeds the Go e
e t s ta get of at . a d currently ranks th i the o ld. I te s of do esti iole e, the t e ds f o the PNTL s Vul e a le U it
show a decrease in reported domestic violence cases, decreasing from 629 cases in 2010 to 530 in 2012.
Reduce Child Mortality
Timor-Leste has already achieved its goal of reducing the under-five mortality rate by two thirds. According to the DHS 2009-2010, the infant mortality rate decreased to 64 per 1000
live births, below the target of 96 per 1000 live births.
Improve Maternal Health
Maternal health, however, remains a serious issue with the DHS 2009-2010 indicating 557 deaths per 100,000 live births vs. the goal of 252 deaths per 100,000 live births. More
worryingly, the DHS highlighted that roughly 40 of all women aged 15-49 that had died in the seven years preceding the survey died from pregnancy or pregnancy-related
complications. Nevertheless the current scenario is a slight improvement compared to the estimates in 2000, which had maternal mortality at 660 deaths per 100,000 live births.
Combat HIVAIDS, Malaria and other diseases
Malaria is the one of the chief public health concerns as more than 80 of the population is at high risk and a high percentage of the cases concern children.
In terms of HIVAIDS while the infection rate is still quite low, there has been a substantial increase in the number of HIV reported cases, from 1 case in 2001 to 317 in 2012.
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Ensure Environmental Sustainability
With regards to environmental sustainability, according to a WHO –UNICEF JMP study in
2011, 69 of the population had access to an improved drinking source. Also, according to the JMP update, only 39 of the population has access to an improved
sanitation facility. The 2010 Census suggests that close to 96 of households use wood as source of energy for
cooking which might be contributing to the slight loss of forest cover witnessed between 2001 and 2009, from 51 to 50. This implies that it is unlikely that Timor-Leste will reach
the 55 land covered by forest by 2015.
Develop a Global Partnership for Development
In terms of access to new information and communication technology, Timor-Leste has witnessed dramatic improvements with approximately half of the population now enjoying
access to a mobile phone. There are also similar improvements in terms of internet access where currently approximately 25 of the population are able to get online.
2.3.3: Short to Medium-Term Prospects 2013-2018
