DILI, 6 december 2022 (TATOLI)– The British Ambassador, Owens Jenkins together with the Representative of the United Nations Children Emergency Fund (UNICEF), Billal Durrani, and the Minister of Health, Odete Freitas Belo visit the Community Health Center and the Integrated Community Health service program (SISCA) Bucoli Baucau municipality.
Speaking after the visits, Ambassador, Owens Jenkins said the purpose of the visit aiming to monitor developments in nutritional health in Baucau.
“We visited to see the health system’s program on nutrition, maternal and child care, including the process of implementing an open defecation free program,” British Ambassador Owens Jenkins told reporters in Baucau, Tuesday.
Regarding nutrition, Jenkins said he was pleased to see children in Timor-Leste consuming nutritious food and mothers taking care of their children.
After the visit, he said the UK is committed to supporting Timor-Leste in a nutrition program to ensure all children live healthy lives.
Meanwhile, the UNICEF Representative, Billal Durrani said that three important factors needed to be considered as pregnant women who needed to go to the hospital/health clinic for routine treatment, routinely breastfeeding their babies after delivery second introducing nutrition programs to parents after giving birth and the last thing is to ensure the hygiene to prevent children from diarrhea and other diseases.
Minister of Health, Odete Freitas Belo emphasize the importance of providing nutritive food for children: “Parents should prepare nutritious food for their children because it is important to ensure the physical and mental development of children,”
“Nutrition must be given to the baby during pregnancy and after giving birth, the mother must give breast milk to her baby for 1,000 days,”
During the visit, the health center authority informed that from January to November 2022, the clinic recorded over 2,295 pregnant women and children who regularly visit the clinic to access the treatment.
Of the total number, authorities also noted that 177 pregnant women received regular treatment and 161 pregnant women gave birth at the health center.
So far, in the last five years, there have been more than 199 children with malnutrition registered in the clinic, while in 2022 the clinic recorded only 3 suffering from malnutrition.
Journalist: José Belarmino De Sá
Editor: Nelia B.
