Making HIV patients feel safe and valued: Beatriz’s story
The first time Beatriz* started taking treatment for HIV was around a year ago. She stopped taking it after just two days. In Timor Leste, the anti-viral tablet we usually prescribe for HIV frequently causes nausea, nightmares and dizziness. A year ago, Beatriz had no...
Improving maternal HIV screening
Procession of the pink plastic table to its new home in the antenatal clinic. You might think that this is a cheap plastic table with some laminated cards tied on with pieces of string. You wouldn’t be wrong about that. What might not be obvious to a casual observer...
A Maluk approach to starting a HIV program
The team: Madalena, Nina, Eleanor, Dircia, Alfredo, Ano and Odilia. Sitting on the floor of Office World surrounded by stationery, I am overcome with doubt. Dircia and I have been here for the last half hour, and I am now certain that the wrong choice of file divider...
Heavy rain doesn’t dampen spirits at the HIV clinic
Our HIV clinic was flooded last week. One learns to expect rain in the rainy season, but the downpour on the weekend saw much of Dili under water. By the time I had sloshed my way into work on Monday, my ultra-efficient team had already dispatched most of the mud. We...
Respect and hope – the HIV story
In the 1980’s HIV/AIDS was considered a death sentence. It was an horrific epidemic that destroyed people from the inside out, devastating their immune system and leaving them vulnerable to diseases of every kind. People living with HIV endured terrible stigma, even...
Support Maluk Timor in helping Timor-Leste
Welcome to our Christmas newsletter. The people of East Timor are fortunate that you have chosen to continue to support Maluk Timor in its endevour to improve the health of its most marginalized. Unless you’re a regular Facebook follower, you probably have relatively...
Sadly, TL is vulnerable to an HIV epidemic
Sadly, Tuberculosis is vulnerable to an HIV epidemic. There is still so much to be done working on the frontline in the fight against HIV. It is a space Maluk Timor is passionate about and has a lot of clinical expertise in. Program leader Mana Dircia and HCW...
Aussie school kids, raise money and visit Timor Leste
Recently a group of high school students from Finley were toured around by around Vera Cruz by Dr Jeremy. Finley is a town near the NSW/Vic border. They raised US$5,000 for our HIV refurbishment. Maluk Timor have been given the task of establishing an HIV diagnostic...