DILI, 05 october 2023 (TATOLI) – The President of Timor-Leste, Jose Ramos-Horta, met with the Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO), Tedros Ghebreyesus, at the WHO office in Geneva.
The two leaders discussed ways to strengthen their cooperation on various health issues, particularly regarding Timor-Leste’s success in combating preventable diseases such as rubella, measles, and malaria, and its actions towards the national campaign for breastfeeding in Timor-Leste.
The WHO played a crucial role in the elimination of rubella, measles, and malaria in Timor-Leste.
The WHO Representative in Timor-Leste, Arvind Mathur, said that the WHO is committed to working with the Ministry of Health to ensure high routine immunization coverage in order to maintain the country’s rubella and measles elimination status.
Mathur stressed that to maintain the elimination status, Timor-Leste must achieve and sustain over 95% MR routine vaccine coverage in all municipalities.
“There are remote and difficult areas where sometimes it is not possible to reach every child and every mother. That is why campaigns are needed. That is why we periodically do nationwide campaigns so that we can bridge the vaccination gaps,” he said.
Ramos-Horta thanked Ghebreyesus for WHO’s support to Timor-Leste and expressed his commitment to work together to improve the health of the Timorese people.
The meeting is a positive step to further strengthen the relationship between Timor-Leste and WHO, and it is hoped that it will pave new and innovative ways to improve health outcomes in Timor-Leste.
In addition, Horta and Ghebreyesus also discussed the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP28) and the need for high-level political commitment to ensure that health is at the center of climate action.
Journalist: José Belarmino De Sá
Editor: Filomeno Martins
