Health in the Family Program now covers 94% of Households
Minister of State and of the Presidency of the Council of Ministers and
Official Spokesperson for the Government of Timor-Leste
Dili, May 24th, 2017
Health in the Family Program now covers 94% of Households
In a Side Event on Health in the Era of the Agenda 2030 for Sustainable Development the Prime Minister revealed that, since the launch of the Program of Health in the Family on the 22nd of July 2015, medical teams had visited 94% of households and had now registered the details of 84% of the population at the individual level. This program, which sends medical teams comprised of a doctor, midwife and nurse to every household in the nation is transforming primary health care in Timor-Leste.
The Prime Minister, H.E. Dr. Rui Maria de Araújo, a medical doctor, explained that the program was born of the conviction that “we must not sit in our health posts, we must go out and bring healthcare to the people”. In the context of the United Nations Agenda 2030, he explained that the program fulfilled two essential principles: ‘leave no one behind’ and ‘reach first those who are furthest behind.’
With approximately 70% of Timorese people living in rural areas and often faced with challenges of access to services and lack of information, he said that a proactive program such as this “was the only way to achieve strong healthy people and a strong nation.”
Visiting teams observe and note the health status of each household and stratify them according to needs. They also look at risk factors and social and environmental impacts on health and organize follow up actions.
The Prime Minister’s speech was delivered to hundreds of participants at the Dili Convention Centre on the 23rd of May 2017 in a Side Event held in the margins of the Global Conference on the 2030 Agenda. The event included the launch of a book and video about Saúde na Familia, which was conducted by the Minister of State, Coordinator of Social Affairs and Minister of Education, H.E. António da Conceição.
Also featured in the Side Event was a discussion of e-Health and how to leverage technology as a tool to support the better and more efficient delivery of quality healthcare. The Saúde na Familia program is using technology to keep secure records of health data, with 82% of collected information now digitized. A growing number of health posts are being connected into a system that allows secure sharing of information between health care professionals, keeps records of the medication given by doctors and supports inventory management to ensure centres have the supplies they need.ENDS
