DILI, 28 february 2024 (TATOLI) – The USAID Acting Mission Director, Amy Partida, and the Vice Minister of Health for Institutional Strengthening, Jose dos Reis Magno, launched a US$50,025 grant to bolster professional competence of health professionals to deliver and improve quality of healthcare services in Timor-Leste.
The grant will support the development of the country’s first-ever competency standards and code of ethics for medical doctors.
This important initiative is funded through the USAID Health System Sustainability Activity and will be implemented by the Timor-Leste Medical Association (AMTL). AMTL is an association whose members include professional doctors with over a decade of field experience and who bring experience from several international and local medical institutions.
Given the diverse knowledge and expertise in medical field, AMTL with its renowned for its leadership suitable for leading this initiative. AMTL will collaborate closely with the Ministry of Health (MOH) to define the competencies or abilities of a medical doctor in Timor-Leste should have, as well as a code of ethics to guide their medical practice.
To ensure a participatory and inclusive process, AMTL will establish a steering committee comprising medical practitioners and representatives from the MOH; Ministry of Higher Education, Science, and Culture; Medical Education Institution; Health Service Training Provider (INSP-TL); and civil society organizations such as Rede ba Saúde Timor-Leste, and FONGTIL. This committee will review the competency framework as it is being developed and provide feedback. Once rolled out, CSOs can use this framework as a tool to assist advocacy efforts by enhancing community knowledge of what standards they should expect to receive from medical practitioners, thereby ensuring that the needs and concerns of the public are effectively addressed.
The launch was attended by high-level MOH officials, USAID leadership, AMTL officials and members, and healthcare professionals. The grant represents a new milestone in a series of initiatives USAID is taking to support the MOH’s efforts to strengthen public and private health workforce management, with the ultimate aim of improving the quality of health care in the country. The grant also represents a reiteration of the U.S. Government’s commitment to build an inclusive, prosperous, and healthy Timor-Leste.
“The commitment of AMTL to establish competency standards and a code of ethics for medical doctors signifies a crucial advancement in elevating the standard of healthcare services within the country. The Ministry of Health is committed and fully endorses this initiative and urges medical doctors to embrace it as a guiding framework for their daily medical practice in healthcare facilities to improve community health”, said Vice Minister.
Journalist: Camilio de Sousa
Editor: Filomeno Martins
