President of Timor-Leste, José Ramos Horta, today lauded the World Health Organization for its exceptional dedication in enhancing public health in the nation, especially amidst the challenging times of the COVID-19 pandemic. “I appreciate the extraordinary work of the WHO,” said Mr. Horta expressing deep gratitude to the Timorese staff of the WHO in the Timor-Leste country office. Mr. Horta was speaking at the event to celebrate the World Health Day and WHO’s 75th anniversary held in Dili.
The event saw the presence of senior government officials including the Minister of Health, dr. Odete Maria Freitas Belo, ambassadors, partner organizations, and WHO Timor-Leste colleagues.
“Let us work together in partnership to make WHO’s objective a reality in our country,” the health minister urged the attendees while praising the organization’s efforts in the country.
WHO Representative Dr. Arvind Mathur, in his welcome speech, emphasized on WHO’s commitment to work with science, solutions, and solidarity, and to provide evidence-based norms, research, data, and technical and operational support to Timor-Leste.
“In these two decades, Timor-Leste has eliminated measles and is very close to eliminating malaria, a stunning achievement,” Dr Mathur said in his speech. “The tragic deaths of mother and babies during childbirth have reduced dramatically. The uptake of vaccines against common killers of the past like measles and newborn tetanus has increased exponentially. We are on the verge of eliminating Neglected Tropical Diseases like Filariasis and Yaws. We have an ambitious program focused on preventing and managing– Non-Communicable Diseases- the biggest killer in Timor-Leste now. The number of doctors has gone from a mere handful to nearly 1,000 in less than 15 years. Just this year, the government raised the taxes on tobacco almost by 5 times – a truly remarkable jump. …… and of course, COVID-19. Despite being a young country with a developing health system, our response to this once-in-a-generation pandemic has been nothing short of amazing,” he added.