DILI, 03 september 2024 (TATOLI) – 50 medical professionals and six ambulance units will be supported by the Belu Atambua Regency Health Office in East Nusa Tenggara (NTT), Indonesia, during Pope Francis’ visit to Timor-Leste on september 9–11, 2024.
This statement was made by the Head of the Belu District Health Office, Maria Ansilla F. Eka Mutty, after a meeting with the Health Team from the Secretariat of the Institutional High Level Commission for the Visit of Pope Francis at the office of the National Ambulance and Emergency Medical Service (SNAEM.IP).
“We met with the Coordinator of the Medical Team in Timor-Leste to discuss the support of ambulances and medical personnel during the visit of the Pope,” Head of the Belu Regency Health Office told reporters after the meeting at the SNAEM office, Cai-Coli, Dili.
The medical staff support from the sisters and the Indonesian National Army (TNI) from Atambua, Indonesia, she said, totaling about fifty medical professionals from Atambua, Indonesia. They include doctors, nurses, pharmacists, midwives, and nutrition officers.
Along with almost eight hundred Indonesian pilgrims, the medical staff from Atambua is scheduled to arrive in Timor-Leste on september 9. They will carry out last-minute coordination prior to their deployment on the ground, and they will depart on september 10th, having attended mass with Pope Francis at Tasi-tolu, Dili.
“We will collaborate with the Committee in Timor-Leste to support each other. In addition, we will support six ambulances from the Atambua Health Office equipped with medicines and other medical equipment,” she said.
Along with the Diocese of Atambua, the Belu District Health Office screened each pilgrim for malaria and other illnesses to ensure their general physical condition.
The Indonesian Embassy in Dili hosted a delegation from the Belu District Health Office on the same day to talk about additional arrangements for Pope Francis’s visit to Timor-Leste.
Journalist: Camílio de Sousa
Editor: Rafael Ximenes de A. Belo
