Goal:

The USAID Health System Sustainability Activity in Timor-Leste is part of USAID’s Local Health System Sustainability project, a global initiative to help countries achieve sustainable, self-financed health systems and support access to universal health coverage and improve health and well-being. 


Location: 

Nationwide

Duration:

August 17, 2020 - August 16, 2023

Contract:

$15.6 million  

Partner Contact:

Project Director: Bob Fryatt (Bob_Fryatt@abtassoc.com) Chief of Party: Bhavesh Jain (bhavesh_jain@abtassoc.com)​, Rua de Fomento, Dili, Timor-Leste; Mobile: +670 77408425

USAID Contact:

Scott R. Stewart, Contract Officer’s Representative,  sstewart@usaid.gov Phone 202-916-2007, USAID Bureau for Global Health;  Dr. Teo Ximenes, Project Management Specialist, tximenes@usaid.gov Phone (670) 330-0500 ext. 2032; Travessa Sergio Vieira de Melo, USAID/Timor-Leste
Project web page: https://lhssproject.org/our-work/timor-leste

Email: usaid-timor-leste-info@usaid.gov

The Timor-Leste health sector has made remarkable progress toward establishing a functioning and effective health system. Timor-Leste opted for universal health coverage which means that all people have access to the health services they need, when and where they need them, without financial hardship. In the last few years health systems have been at the core of the Ministry of Health and development partners' efforts. The rapidly changing environment like disease burden that is shifting rapidly and in an unpredictable way, the needs for additional resources mobilization, increased demand for quality of services, more call for integrated services and strong evidence that suggest investment in health systems strengthening guarantee the sustainability of lifesaving impacts of health interventions make the creation of a sustainable health system in Timor-Leste an imperative strategic investment.

Summary

The Timor-Leste activity will effectively and sustainably strengthen the Government of Timor-Leste’s ability to govern, finance, and deliver high-quality, affordable essential health services while being responsive and accountable to users and an engaged civil society. Co-interventions will support the Timor-Leste government, including the Ministry of Health, National Institute of Health (INS), and Ministry of Social Solidarity and Inclusion, to build a more resilient and self-reliant health system capable of responding to public needs in both crisis and non-crisis contexts. The activity will advance Timor-Leste’s self-reliance by strengthening government capacity to support the country’s institutions and organizations to independently design, fund, implement, and manage their health system.

Activity Objectives

  • Strengthen health sector governance by enhancing the Government of Timor-Leste’s capacity to produce and use quality data to inform decision-making, strengthen health financing at the national and subnational levels, and provide technical support for Ministry of Health strategic management.
  • Strengthen the Government of Timor-Leste’s ability to recruit and retain a qualified workforce and to allocate that workforce equitably across Timor-Leste; support the development of health workforce competencies and standards; improve training and professional development opportunities for health workers; and strengthen human resources information systems and managers’ capacity to use human resources data for decision-making. 
  • Improve healthy behaviors by using social, and behavior change methods and tools to increase community adoption of healthy behaviors and influence social norms that underpin those behaviors including building the capacity of civil society organizations to effectively implement social and behavior change activities. 
  • Improve civic engagement and advocacy for health system strengthening by supporting stronger engagement of civil society organizations in priority setting, monitoring, and accountability for essential health products and services, including supporting government stakeholders to better understand the perspectives and needs of their clients and health workers who provide services.