Paulina Quintao – The Ministry of Health (MoH) in cooperation with the Ministry of Social Solidarity (MSS) through the National Rehabilitation Centre (NRC) are discussing about the best mechanism of cooperation between ministries and institutions that best addressed the needs of Timorese living with disability.

The DG Dr Odete Viegas said it is very important to fix services for people with special needs.

The General Director for Health Services of MoH, Odete Viegas said it is very important to fix services for people with special needs because during the domiciliary visits conducted part of the Health in the Family program, many cases of Timorese living with disability have been identified.

She said the Ministry has an obligation to coordinate with other relevant ministries to respond to the needs of people with disabilities.

"We will sign an MoU with them on how to create better coordination mechanisms in the future," she said during a recent visit to the National Rehabilitation Centre, in Becora, Dili.

She said they will also coordinate with the National Hospital HNGV in Dili to prioritize people with disabilities, if they need urgent diagnosis, including X-ray and other services.

Meanwhile, the Director of the National Rehabilitation Centre, Veronica das Dores appreciated the initiative to transfer people with disabilities from the municipalities to Dili for treatment.

She added some of the difficulties the NRC faces include lack of adequate transport for people with special needs and that they only have five (5) small cars to transport people in Dili but these cannot reach patients in the municipalities.

"We have a dormitory with 14 beds, but we won't be able to attend many patients coming from the municipalities. We also don't have enough space for rehabilitative and therapeutical work so we might have to limit the number of people we can take in at one time," he said.

She informed that so far, they have managed to treat over 5,000 people with disabilities. The treatments include therapy for those who have suffered a stroke, they also provide wheelchairs, prosthetic hands and crutches.

Source: http://www.thediliweekly.com/en/news/15415-moh-establishes-mechanism-for-timorese-with-disability