East Timor
Timor-Leste was under the rule of Portugal until 1975 when it was occupied by Indonesia. After 24 years of Indonesian occupation, the people of Timor-Leste voted overwhelmingly for independence on 30 August 1999. The first new country of the millennium, East Timor is also one of the world's poorest. Its meager infrastructure was destroyed by the Indonesian militias in 1999, and the economy, primarily made up of subsistence farming and fishing, is in shambles. In April 2007 there were presidential elections—the first since the country gained independence. These were followed by a period of civil unrest. Today there are still about 30,000 displaced people living in camps in the capital, Dili, and another 70,000 in the districts in a total of 58 camps. Stabilizing the security situation thus remains of high priority for the new government. The United Nations has been requested to continue its presence in the country, backed by foreign troops.
Health situation
Timor-Leste is a small, post-crisis country with a population of about
850,000 and a land area of 14,610 square kilometers.
- The vast majority of poor people (85%) live in rural areas.
- 620, 000 Timorese do not have electricity.
- Timor-Leste has a young population; with about 48.1% below 17 years. 17% are under 5 years.
- 46% of the population 11 years or older never attended school,and cannot read or write.
- Average life expectancy is 57 years.
- Population growth is estimated at 3.93% per year, with a sex ratio (males per 100 females) of 107.
- 560,000 people live in families without a radio.
- Although 80% of the population currently has access to health services comprising four hospitals, 65 community health centres and 82 health posts, the current average walking time to a health centre is 70 minutes.
ILEP Co-ordination
The Leprosy Mission International is currently the ILEP National Co-ordinator for East Timor.
For more information regarding co-ordination please contact the head office:
The Leprosy Mission International
80 Windmill Road
Brentford
Middlesex
TW8 0QH
Tel: +44 (208) 326 6767
E-mail: friends@tlmint.org
ILEP Member Representatives in East Timor.
| Representative | ILEP Member | |
|---|---|---|
| Ms Natalie Smith | TLMI | natalie@tlmtl.org |
Key Contacts
| Organisation | Contact person | Address | Contact details |
|---|---|---|---|
| Government Ministry of Health | Mr Jose Liu Fernandez | Government Ministry of Health
Dilli East Timor |
Basic Statistics
| Year | Newly detected cases | No. of new cases MB (a) | No. of new female cases | No. of new cases among children (b) | No. of new cases with G2D (c) | Relapses |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 | 372 | 248 | 64 | 53 | ||
| 2005 | 288 | 212 | 61 | 15 | 61 | |
| 2006 | 248 | 161 | ||||
| 2007 | 184 | 119 | 117 | 26 | 20 | 10 |
| 2008 | 154 | 109 | 56 | 12 | 7 | 3 |
a MB = Multibacillary leprosy
b Children are cases of 0 - 14 years
c New G2D = WHO grade 2 disabilities among new cases
source data: WHO Weekly epidemiological records :No. 13, 2005, 80, 113-124 : No. 34, 2005, 80, 289-296 : No. 32, 2006, 81, 309-316 : No. 25, 2007, 82, 225-232 : No. 33,2008, 83, 293-300,
No. 33, 2009, 84, 333-340.
Resources
ePortuguêse Network
This WHO Virtual Health Library supports the dissemination of Portuguese health resources and materials. The ePortuguêse Network helps to strengthen collaboration among WHO lusophone speaking Member States and to facilitate the training and capacity-building of health workers: http://www.who.int/eportuguese/en/