The Minister for Planning and Strategic Investment, Kay Rala Xanana Gusmão, has been presented an Excellence in Public Health award by the World Health Organization. Regional Director, Dr. Poonam Khetrapal Singh, presented the award on September 10th, during the Sixty-eighth Session of the WHO Regional Committee for South-East Asia meeting in Dili this week.

The former President and Prime Minister was recognized for “building sustainable health services, specifically in training medical doctors.”

In 2003 then President Gusmão signed a historic agreement with Cuba to build a sustainable health system and train Timorese medical doctors. In 2005 the agreement was strengthened and included 1,000 scholarships to train Timorese medical doctors and a “brigade” of 300 Cuban health workers to assist in the delivery of health services within Timor-Leste.

WHO noted that as a result of these efforts “today all 442 villages in the country have at least one doctor in each of their health centers and health posts”.

The Timor-Leste Malaria Control Program was awarded by WHO last year