The European Union and World Health Organization, today, officially handed over essential medicines, consumables and medical equipment for operationalization of High Dependency Units (HDUs) and Intensive Care Units (ICUs) at the regional referral hospitals to the Ministry of Health’s storage facility, Serviço Autónomo de Medicamentos e Equipamentos de Saúde (SAMES). These medicines and equipment will enable the referral hospitals to handle critical cases and help in saving many lives.
The consignment was handed over to H.E. dr. Odete Maria Freitas Belo, Minister of Health by Andrew Jacobs, Ambassador of the European Union and Dr Arvind Mathur, WHO Country Representative to Timor-Leste at a ceremony held at the SAMES compound in Dili. It included pulse oximeters, nasal oxygen cannulas, portable ventilators, non-invasive ventilator machines, oxygen concentrators, surgery sets, catheters, and important antibiotics, anesthetics and other essential medicines commonly used in HDUs. The handover was carried out under the collaborative project of the Ministry of Health, European Union/European Commission for Humanitarian Aid (ECHO) and WHO.
“The delivery of the medicines and equipment for operationalization of the HDUs and ICUs in referral hospitals will enable our facilities to cater to severe patients within the municipalities. This intervention will save many lives,” said dr. Odete Maria Freitas Belo, Minister of Health. “The WHO has been supporting the Ministry of Health and SAMES to upgrade the country’s critical care set-up throughout the pandemic, and the systems that we build now will be beneficial for the people of the country in days to come. We are grateful to the strong technical support of WHO and generous donation of the EU and we look forward to our further collaboration” she added.
“The European Union is proud to support the strengthening of Timor-Leste’s health system through the provision of vital equipment. The equipment we have handed over today will provide valuable ammunition in the continuous battle against COVID-19 and other diseases. I am confident that it will save many lives. The partnership between the EU and OMS and the MoH is a strong one, and has been important in Timor-Leste’s success in tackling COVID-19. We must continue to work together to not only eradicate this disease once and for all, through maximum vaccination coverage and continuous education on its prevention, but also to improve the intervention and management of other diseases.” affirmed Andrew Jacobs, the European Union Ambassador.
“Globally, critical illness results in millions of deaths every year. Although many of these deaths are potentially preventable, the basic, life-saving care of critically ill patients is often overlooked in health systems,” said Dr Arvind Mathur, WHO Country Representative to Timor-Leste. “Many patients come from the municipalities to receive life-sustaining care in Dili, but sadly some of them don’t reach within the golden hour. Referral hospitals must therefore be equipped to treat patients who need higher level of care. The medicines and equipment procured under this collaborative project have already helped in boosting the country’s response throughout the pandemic and it will further help in strengthening the health systems for COVID-19 and beyond,” Dr Mathur added.
The COVID-19 pandemic led to a global surge of critically ill patients and put the focus on the need of availability of critical care in all hospitals. Critical care units cater to a range of emergencies such as heart attacks, strokes, pregnancy related complications, acute respiratory illness among others. Timor-Leste has five referral hospitals where the HDUs are currently being strengthened so that patients don’t have to always travel to the national hospital located in Dili.
For more information, contact:
Jyoti Shelar, Communications Consultant, WHO: shelarj@who.int; +67077728051