Dr Arvind Mathur, WHO Representative to Timor-Leste
You wouldn’t know it by looking at someone, but right now, about one in every three adults in Timor-Leste is walking around with a silent time bomb in their bodies. It’s called hypertension – high blood pressure – and it’s quietly setting the stage for heart attacks, strokes, kidney failure and other chronic illnesses across this young nation.
What’s more alarming? Hypertension gives no warning signs until it’s almost too late. Most people discover it often after collapsing or being rushed to the hospital.
This year’s World Hypertension Day theme—Measure Your Blood Pressure Accurately, Control It, Live Longer—is a powerful nudge to action that a simple blood pressure check can be lifesaving. The first step is awareness. The second is action.
The Numbers Speak for themselves-Globally, hypertension claims 10.4 million deaths annually. In Timor-Leste, the age-standardized prevalence of hypertension among adults (30–79 years) is 35% — 34% in men and 37% in women.
What makes this crisis especially tragic is how preventable it is. In a country where people have survived decades of conflict, they now face a modern, invisible enemy – one that comes from changing diets, too much salt in instant noodles and processed foods, physical inactivity and not enough access to basic health checks.
A Growing Burden: In Timor-Leste, non-communicable diseases (NCDs), including those related to high blood pressure, are rising swiftly. Many, particularly in rural areas, only discover they have hypertension after severe complications arise, leading to unnecessary suffering, hospitalizations, and premature deaths.
But there is hope and progress. Prevention is Possible and Treatment works. Hypertension is both preventable and treatable. Early detection through regular BP checks, guided treatment, and lifestyle changes can dramatically reduce risk.
Tackling one of the biggest modern-day killers requires an integrated approach—linking responses across diseases, strengthening health systems, building skills of health workforce and actively involving communities.
The Ministry’s flagship 50x25 initiative, launched in 2024, aims to place 50,000 people with hypertension or diabetes on regular treatment by 2025. In collaboration with WHO and the World Diabetes Foundation, this bold mission is being implemented through targeted screening and follow-up care. I commend the Ministry of Health and partners for training health workers in Dili and Aileu to accelerate diagnosis and treatment.
Complementing this is the continued expansion of the HEARTS initiative, which integrates hypertension prevention and control directly into primary healthcare systems, bringing services closer to communities.
The country has also adopted WHO’s Package of Essential Noncommunicable Disease Interventions (PEN), a cost-effective tool for early detection and management of chronic conditions like diabetes and cardiovascular disease. Managing one of these diseases well often helps manage the others too.
These efforts are being further reinforced through the Integrated Health Program, or Programa Integradu BA Saúde (PIS), which brings care closest to communities, improves specialist care and strengthens referral pathways at the community level. While the government does its part, the citizens must do theirs too.
This World Hypertension Day, I urge every citizen—from mountains to coast—to get your blood pressure checked. Visit nearest health post, talk to your doctor, and encourage loved ones to do the same. A simple test today could prevent a stroke or heart attack tomorrow.
Everyone above 18 should have their blood pressure checked regularly at least once or twice a year. If elevated levels are detected, further regular and more frequent monitoring is advised.
You can’t feel high blood pressure, but you can control it. Get it checked today as this seemingly small step bring big impact. Managing your blood pressure goes beyond individual wellbeing. It is a proven and powerful act of disease prevention. Uncontrolled hypertension can lead to lifelong complications like stroke, paralysis, speech loss, memory decline, and long-term disability. These effects can ripple through families. The good news: often, just one affordable pill a day, combined with regular monitoring and healthier habits, can prevent these devastating outcomes.
Acting now can pave the way for longer, stronger lives—for yourself, for your family and for the future of Timor Leste.