The Vice-Minister for Strategic Health Development, Bonifácio dos Reis, launched on May 30 the fourth edition of the “National Program of Mass Distribution of Medicines” in Timor-Leste.

The Vice-Minister was accompanied by the Ambassador of South Korea in Timor-Leste, Lee Chin-Bum and the representative of the World Health Organization (WHO) in Timor-Leste, Rajesh Pandav, at the ceremony held at the St. Ignatius School of Loiola de Kasait, in Liquiçá.

The main objective of this program is to reduce the rate of microfilaria symptoms by preventing, through antiparasitic drugs, diseases such as lymphatic filariasis, also known as elephantiasis and ascariasis.

“According to the results of a National Survey of 2012 from the Ministry of Health and the University of Sydney, supported by the World Health Organization, the antibodies detected in East Timorese for lymphatic filariasis are 17.5% and ascariasis 29% revealed the Vice-Minister.

“I hope the percentage of coverage [of medicines] in municipalities is increased, even though we have already exceeded the minimum percentage of 65% recommended by the WHO,” he added.