Timor-Leste Graduates

Eye health workers now in all districts of Timor Leste

Photo: FHFNZ staff Karen Hobday (Workforce Development Manager) and Yovita Bere (Workforce Development Coordinator), together with Danino Orleans (Eye Health Unit Officer from the Ministry of Health), together with 12 of the 13 graduating Eye Care Technicians. Photo: Jess Howell

From 2011, Timor Leste will have qualified eye health workers in all 13 districts.

Eleven eye health technicians graduated from the Diploma in Eye Care at the Institute of Health Sciences, (IHS) in mid December.

They will join eight eye health nurses already working in referral hospitals and community health centres, most of whom are graduates of the 2009 diploma.

At their graduation, the technicians were awarded certificates and given trial lens sets, the tools they’ll need to start work in their districts.

The Diploma in Eye Care is run by The Fred Hollows Foundation New Zealand, with the Ministry of Health’s Eye Care Unit and the IHS.

Country Director for FHFNZ, Mandy Whyte, says it is an exciting milestone for the eye-health sector in Timor Leste. “Communities can feel confident about seeking qualified help for their eye health problems”.

Timor Leste has a high burden of blindness, with most of the approximately 13,500 blind people living in remote rural areas.