DILI, 9 april, 2023 (TATOLI)- World Health Organization (WHO) brought an expert team from the South East Asian Region (SEARO), composed of 15 experts to evaluate the progress of Tuberculosis (TB) elimination in Timor-Leste.
Team Leader of SEARO, Dr. Bharat Rewari said the presence of the SEARO experts team in Timor-Leste, aimed to evaluate the progress of Timor-Leste’s effort to end Tuberculosis in Timor-Leste.
“We have visited some municipalities to evaluate the progress of TB elimination in Timor- Leste. We are also observing the health equipment to support health staffs for carrying out routine diagnose of TB,’’ Team Leader of SEARO, Dr. Bharat Rewari told journalists at Novu Turismo hotel, wednesday.
He added the expert’s team also crosses check TB patient data in some municipalities in National Hospital Guido Valadares, Bairru Pité Clinic, Klibur Domin Tibar, and others. The team also discussed with priority partners such as Maluk Timor and the National Control Tuberculosis data collection system.
“We also visited some municipalities to get information on the End TB budget. We intend to know the transportation which is very important to transport patients diagnosed in the health center and the community level,’’ He explained.
According to the observation of the team, Mr. Rewari revealed that Timor-Leste continues to register a high number of TB symptoms with a very small number that accesses TB diagnostic because this country still lacks TB data management and There is no control over how many patients are routine for the treatment.
“So It is a big challenge for Timor-Leste to have proper data for the patient going to the community level which is contributing so much to spreading TB to others,”
WHO Country Director in Timor-Leste, Arvind Mathur said WHO is committed to supporting Timor-Leste to achieve its National Strategic Plan to end TB from 2020 to 2024.
In 2020, WHO will enable the country to move towards achieving the End TB strategy’s Milestone, or 2025 can be a reduction in TB deaths by 75% to 50%.
“The presence of TB experts from SEARO will help Timor-Leste to provide the proper mechanism and TB elimination system to help Timor-Leste provide effective TB detection and also prevention system,’’ Dr. Arvind said
Minister of Health Odete Maria Freitas Belo said it is a big effort to bring the TB expert’s team to Timor-Leste. There are about 15 experts.
“It is not easy to bring 15 experts from South East Asian Region to Timor-Leste. Their presence will help us to evaluate our effort in the elimination of TB in this country,’’ She said
Mrs. Belo emphasized that all potential health staff should be working on the system to ensure the Elimination of TB must be achieved based on the National Strategic Plan.
It is known that National Control Tuberculosis registered 2022 a total of 2,581 TB cases.
So far, Global Fund has provided 21 million USD to combat TB, HIV, and Malaria in Timor-Leste from 2021 to 2023. Thus, Global Fund will provide 15.5 million for the 2024 to 2026 period.
Journalist: José Belarmino De Sá
Editor: Nelia B.
