DILI, 02 october 2023 (TATOLI) – CARE International Timor-Leste, on monday (02/10) signed agreements with Knua Haberan Comunidade (KHC) and Asosiasaun Rede Covalima (ARC) to incorporate the Community Score Card tool into COVID-19 and Health Systems Strengthening Support project (CohSiS) project.
This activity will be carried out by KHC in Viqueque, covering 11 villages, and by ARC in Covalima, covering seven villages.
Equipped with local connection and expertise, these two organizations will collaborate closely with key stakeholders in the health sector to ensure that rural communities are supported through the utilization and access to community health services.
With these partnership agreements, Care is aiming to replicate the impact of previous experiences at a larger scale, focusing on reducing the vulnerability of rural and remote communities in Viqueque and Covalima to the effects of health crises.
Acting Country Director of CI-TL, José Da Costa said it’s a privilege for CI-TL to sign the agreements with the key stakeholders to ensure that rural communities are supported through the utilization and access to community health services.
Costa said CI-TL trusted its local partners on the implementation of the CohSiS project in the two municipalities.
The Executive Director of the KHC, Augusto Pinto, said that the KHC was committed to working closely with the rural communities on the implementation of the project.
“The lack of health services, drinking water, sanitation infrastructure, and malnutrition have indeed affected the health of mothers and children,” he said.
Meanwhile, the AFC coordinator, Pedro Amaral, said he would work closely with local communities to ensure the effective implementation of the project for the benefit of vulnerable communities in the rural areas: “We have to make sure that this project is implemented properly in order to have a significant impact on the health of the communities, as well as improving their livelihoods and family economies.”
Pandemics like COVID-19 have shown how vulnerabilities in health systems can have serious implications for health, economic progress, and livelihoods, especially for rural women who are already affected by existing structural inequalities.
Journalist: José Belarmino De Sá
Editor: Filomeno Martins
