The Ministry of Health, supported by the World Health Organisation (WHO) and other partners, concluded on August 11th a three-day workshop with health professionals from all national municipalities, aiming to integrate COVID-19 vaccination with routine immunisation, such as measles, rubella, BCG, Hepatitis B, among others. The seminar took place at the Baucau Convention Centre.

This initiative seeks to recover from the negative impacts caused by the COVID-19 pandemic on routine immunisation activities.

The Minister of Health, Odete Maria Freitas Belo, highlighted the urgent need to increase the number of human resources in family health to increase vaccination coverage in the country. Odete Belo also acknowledged the support from partners, such as USAID, WHO, UNICEF, and UNFPA, which together with the Government, have guaranteed all the support for the children and mothers of Timor-Leste.

WHO country representative Arvind Mathur said that with an integrated approach, all vaccines may be provided by the same group of health workers for different age groups. “This is an opportunity to optimise resources and it is prudent to consider integrating COVID-19 vaccination with routine immunisation, which seems to be an effective and efficient way forward”, he added.