Dili, November 25, 2024 (Média Democracia) – Timor-Leste’s second Joint External Assessment (JEE) was successfully completed by a team of 22 international experts who commended the country’s progress in preparing for health emergencies while providing key recommendations for further improvement. Previously conducted in 2018, the JEE evaluated the country’s capacity to prevent, detect and respond to health emergencies based on the International Health Regulations (IHR, 2005), on last Friday.
Deputy Minister for Strengthening Health Institutions, José dos Reis Magno informed that this week, the team will conduct assessments at a number of places, including Nicolau Lobato Airport, Dili Port, Tibar Port, HNGV, national laboratories and animals, INSP-TL, Dili Health Office and a number of health centers.
“The assessment covers 19 technical areas and 56 indicators focused on disease awareness, laboratory systems, emergency response, food security, zoonotic diseases, biosafe and bioguard, antimicrobial resistance and others. Experts reviewed protocols, analyzed documents and gas with local representatives.” Said the Deputy of the Ministry for Strengthening Health Institutions, José dos Reis Magno
He continued that the main recommendations underlined the need to adopt a One Health approach, strengthen under-resourced areas such as veterans and environmental health and improve cross-sectoral coordination through investment and clear responsibilities. The experts commended Timor-Leste’s significant progress in 19 technical areas, noting that while there are good practices, some need institutionalization. They underlined the need to translate the major successes of Covid-19 into a durable multi-sectoral system and policy. The team commended Timor-Leste for placing medical personnel in each Faculty of Health and adding gender representation to leadership roles.
“The Deputy Minister for Health Institution Strengthening assessed the findings of the JEE as very important in the presentation on Friday. It provides us with clear guidelines to strengthen our health care capacity, in line with national priorities and international obligations. Our goal is not just to compromise or comply with international standards, but we build a resilient health system.” He added.
As WHO representative in Timor-Leste, Arvind Mathur said that he called JEE a “Mark” to strengthen IHR capacity.
“Health care is a shared responsibility, Dr. Marthur called for active involvement from all sectors, from agriculture and the environment to customs, immigration, border control and most importantly the community.” He said.
He continued, what is important is to take political and program recommendations for significant change, while WHO compromises to support its implementation.
On the other hand, the JEE mission team leader, Karen Sliter underlined the significant achievements and progress that have been made in Timor-Leste since the last JEE in 2018. In 2024, 3 actual versions of JEE have been used which have been evaluated from the one used in 2018.
“This tool has raised the bar and offers a difficult direction to strengthen the country’s capacity. Although it is important to think that the value they have is not to improve health care, but it is necessary to give emphasis to priority actions,” She said.
In addition, Reuben Samuel as Co-Leader of the JEE team explained that JEE’s awareness-based approach ensures the involvement of the host country according to the ranking, priority of action, and final report.
“Each technical area is classified from 1 (no capacity) to 5 (sustainable capacity). The outline of this report will be shared with countries for consultation to determine their actual capacity,” he said.
To be more specific, the JEE team offers three to five priority actions for each technical area that will form the basis for developing a national action plan for health security for the next five years.
Reported by : Nelfiano
Picture by : Média Officer