DILI, 3 may 2021 (TATOLI) – The Minister of Health (MS), Odete Belo, and the Ambassador of the United States of America (USA), Kevin Blackstone, today approached a new contribution in the scope of the covid-19 pandemic and the provision of mobile health equipment to be granted by the US Ministry of Defense.
According to the Ambassador, the United States intends to continue its partnership with Timor-Leste to combat the spread of covid-19 in the country.
Ambassador Kevin Blackstone also referred that the cooperation between the United States and the MoH will be established according to the priorities defined by the Ministry.
Aid from the US Ministry of Defense is in preparation and will be implemented in late 2021.
“We will build two isolation centers in Baucau and Suai [Covalima]. We will also build a water drilling site in Batugadé, in the border area,“ Ambassador Blackstone said.
The Ambassador also stated that the USA is one of the largest contributors to the global COVAX vaccine distribution program (with US $ 2 billion out of a total of US $ 4 billion already contributed) to face the health crisis caused by covid-19 (the US contribution to the Global Fund for COVID-19 is $3.5 billion). A separate Global Health Fund will provide further financial support and the MoH and the World Health Organization (WHO) have already identified the type of support they can obtain through the United States’ contribution to that fund.
The Ambassador added that, through this aid, he aims to provide the MoH with an amount yet to be determined, stressing that, first, the MoH must define its priorities.
The Minister of Health, Odete Belo, said that, at today’s meeting, the MS informed the ambassador about the aid granted by the USA to Timor-Leste, namely personal protective equipment for frontliners, which allows them to provide adequate support to infected with covid-19.
“We shared information about the type of support that will be granted and what is going on, in particular the construction of the isolation centers in Suai and Baucau. We also addressed aid through the Global Fund and have already received a request to send a proposal to the fund, which we are currently preparing. After the conclusion and delivery of the proposal, we hope to obtain a budget to improve the National Laboratory, acquire reagents and train our doctors”, Ms. Belo said.
The United States has made available $ 4.1 million to Timor-Leste since last year in response to the new coronavirus.
Journalist: Maria Auxiliadora
Editor: Zezito Silva
