DILI, 04 march 2023 (TATOLI) – The World Health Organization (WHO) Timor-Leste is committed to supporting the Ministry of Health (MoH) to improve the quality of health services in the country.
WHO Representative, Arvind Mathur, made the comments at the World Health Day celebration, in Dili, today.
Therefore, WHO will continue to work with the Ministry of Health to improve the quality of Timor-Leste’s health services to gain people’s trust in the country’s health system.
“We need to be better prepared with a stronger and more resilient health system with better surveillance, more trained public health professionals, more advanced testing facilities, and more sophisticated case management, including emergency management teams,” Mathur explained.
WHO also pledged to continue to support Timor-Leste in the fight against malnutrition: “Too many children in Timor-Leste are still not reaching their full potential because of malnutrition.”
In Timor-Leste, 47% of children under the age of five are stunted and 8.6% are wasted. Malnutrition in its different manifestations –stunting, wasting, micronutrient deficiencies, overweight, and obesity – is a risk marker for poor child development.
Malnutrition has profound and long-term effects on individuals and societies, including diminished cognitive and physical development, reduced productive capacity and poor health, and an increased risk of degenerative diseases such as diabetes.
Mathur also raised the importance of increasing the number of specialists and enhancing practical competencies across the health workforce.
With the support of the WHO, Timor-Leste has produced nearly 1,000 doctors in less than 15 years and also an overall increase in the health workforce, which is key to boosting the quality of health services in the country.
As a Small Island Developing States (SIDS), Mathur also highlighted the need of enhancing the country’s response capabilities to man-made and natural disasters with an environmentally sustainable and climate-resilient health system.
“I would like to use this important day to remind and reiterate to the Minister of Health and the people of Timor-Leste, that like before, WHO stands committed to supporting and working alongside the government to ensure the best possible health for all people,” Mathur said. “WHO – as a trusted, credible, and reliable friend – stands closely and resolutely with the Ministry, the government, and the people of Timor-Leste to face the challenges of the future and work with science, solutions, and solidarity.”
In order to ensure “Health for All” in Timor-Leste, WHO and the Ministry of Health collaborated to co-produce the Essential Services Package for primary, secondary, and tertiary care, co-build critical care and emergency services in all national and referral hospitals, established cervical cancer screening and treatment centers against one of the most common cancers in women, provided technical and logistical support to keep the Prime Minister’s commitment to “end tuberculosis by 2025”, established more “stop smoking” clinics, and opened outdoor gyms and treatment services to ensure fewer people die from NCDs.
Journalist: Filomeno Martins
Editor: Nelia Borges
