Human Resource Development

The objective of the Human Resource Development policy is to ensure the availability and delivery of quality heath services by recruiting, training and managing a sufficient number of health personnel, based on identified health service delivery needs and within sustainable resources.

The policy will see to achieve equitable distribution as well as an appropriate skill mix for the health delivery system adopted by Timor-Leste.

The Ministry of Health is currently providing medical services to all the 13 districts throughout Timor-Leste with the assistance of a team of inter-national medical officers and specialists. In order to maintain the high standard of medical services and to ensure the provision of adequate ongoing health services to the people, the Ministry has estimated that it will require approximately 25 district medical officers and 27 medical specialists to service Timor-Leste.

Twenty-one district medical officers have already been recruited, as projected for this fiscal year. Funding for these positions has been made available through the Trust Fund for Timor-Leste budget until 2003. Fourteen medical specialists have been recruited, and a further five are in the process of recruitment - three for Baucau hospital, one for Oecussi and one for Dili national hospital. The specialists include surgeons, obstetricians and gynae-cologists, anaesthetists, paediatricians, internists, and emergency department doctors.

In brief, details of the medical assistance being provided to all the districts is given below: