DILI, 07 february 2022 (TATOLI) – The Ministry of Health handed over 200 liters of Malathion, 650 kilograms of Abate, and 50.000 different Information, Education, and Communication (IEC) materials to the Ministry of Health (MoH) to combat dengue in Timor-Leste.
“Today, I am very delighted to hand over the 200 liters of malathion, and the 650 kilograms of Abate to the Ministry of Health. I am sure it will help us in further controlling mosquito breeding in Dili and beyond,” WHO Representative to Timor-Leste, Arvind Mathur made the comments during the handover ceremony at the Ministry of Health, in Dili, on monday.
At the handover ceremony, the WHO also provided 50.000 different IEC materials, such as brochures, posters, and pamphlets to support Timor-Leste’s National Dengue Prevention Campaign.
“In addition, we are today be able to hand over 50.000 IEC materials for the dengue prevention campaign, including brochures, posters, and pamphlets which are targeted to the communities for dengue prevention,” he said.
Mathur said in addition to the 10.000 dengue kits that WHO had delivered earlier to MoH, it would also soon hand over another 40.000 dengue kits to MoH.
“We have already procured another 40.000 dengue kits which have also been processed, and we should get them in due course of time,” he reiterated.
Mathur congratulated the Ministry of Health for mounting a very impressive response to the dengue situation in the country, which the Minister of Health had previously declared as a national public health emergency.
“We have already seen that the cases of dengue in terms of hospitalization are reducing. So, my happiest congratulations to the really comprehensive community-led and coordinated response to the dengue outbreak. It’s been an honor for WHO to be partnering with MoH right from day one in the response to the dengue outbreak,” he said.
Mathur again said WHO was extremely pleased with the effort that had been made by the National Director of Public Health and the Department of Environmental Health for community mobilization and increasing the awareness of the communities.
Mathur added that community mobilization is a very critical component to combat dengue in the country: “WHO has been supporting the Ministry of Health with the video messages of the Minister of Health, Director-General, as well as a number of information materials that have been put now on the GMN TV as the awareness-building messages for the next two or three months.”
He said: “This particular support is almost to the tune-up of US$50.000 that is we have been able to mobilize and provide.”
WHO had been also providing training on Clinical Management to a number of doctors and nurses of the National Hospital Guido Valadares (HNGV) and Community Health Centers.
At the same place, on behalf of the Ministry of Health, the Vice Minister of Health, Bonifácio Mau Coli dos Reis thanked WHO for the support, saying it would help MoH to combat dengue in Timor-Leste.
“We also thank WHO for the video messages and IEC materials which are important to support Timor-Leste’s National Dengue Prevention Campaign. Cooperation between the Ministry of Health, WHO, and other development partners are essential to combat dengue in the country,” Reis said.
Journalist: Filomeno Martins
Editor: Rafy Belo
