The Prime Minister, Taur Matan Ruak, accompanied by the Vice-Prime Minister, José Maria dos Reis and the Minister of Health, Odete Maria Freitas Belo, on January 26, 2023, laid the foundation stone for the construction of the new Paediatric and Coronary Intensive Care Unit building of the Guido Valadares National Hospital (HNGV – Portuguese acronym), in Dili. 

This new five-story unit, built within two years, will improve access and the quality of specialised care provided at the HNGV, with particular attention to inpatient emergency and urgent paediatric care. It will also enhance the national response to sporadic and emerging dengue, cholera, or other outbreaks with significant public health impacts, particularly among newborns, children, and adolescents.

The Head of the Government, in his speech during the ceremony, called this initiative “extremely important and historic for the modernisation of the HNGV’s infrastructures and the improvement of patient conditions and the working conditions of the health staff”.

The Prime Minister also called on the company responsible for the building’s construction to “meet the deadlines set and the quality required for developing this infrastructure”. 

The Vice-Minister of Health, Bonifácio Mau Coli dos Reis, the Secretary of State for Land and Property, Eldino Rodrigues dos Santos, and representatives from the Chinese Embassy and the construction company also attended the ceremony.