The Minister of Health, Odete Freitas Belo, signed a memorandum of understanding with the Ambassador of the European Union (EU) in Timor-Leste, Andrew Jacobs and the World Health Organization (WHO) Representative in Timor-Leste, Arvin Mathur, for the implementation of a project to mitigate the impact of the SARS-CoV-2 virus and improve the conditions of five referral hospitals outside Dili. The agreement was signed on June 16th, 2021, at the Novo Turismo Hotel, in Dili.
The project will be implemented by WHO over a period of 12 months and will be funded by the EU, through European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations (ECHO), with an amount of € 1 million euros (about USD$ 1.2 million).
The initiative’s main objective is to strengthen the SARS-CoV-2 case management in five referral hospitals in Timor-Leste, in order to reduce morbidity and mortality associated to COVID-19. The referral hospitals of Maubisse, in the Municipality of Ainaro, Baucau, Maliana, in the Municipality of Bobonaro, Suai in the Municipality of Covalima, and Oé-Cusse, in the Special Administrative Region of Oé-Cusse Ambeno (RAEOA) will benefit from this project.
Under this project, the capacity of these referral hospitals to manage moderate and severe cases of COVID-19 will be strengthened, by improving infrastructure and training human resources.
The Minister Odete Freitas Belo expressed her satisfaction for this partnership between the Ministry of Health, the EU and the WHO, as well as for the goals set by this project.
The member of the Government stated that “this pandemic will be behind us sooner or later, but our goal is not just to deal with this pandemic, but to create a system that can respond to and survive any health emergency we may face in the future”.
EU Ambassador Andrew Jacobs said, “the EU is committed to mitigating the effects of the crisis within and beyond Europe’s borders. People in need of humanitarian assistance around the world are vulnerable, and it is our joint responsibility to protect them as best we can. No one is really safe until everyone is safe.”
Arvin Mathur, WHO Representative in Timor-Leste, assumed that “the EU funding gives greater capacity to WHO, to support the Ministry of Health in the response to COVID-19”. He also highlighted that the “main result of this collaboration is to build and create a health system that will be efficient and more resilient to face health emergencies and also provide better quality care to citizens of this country”.