HIV program – How you could help
The HIV team has achieved genuinely astonishing results in very tough circumstances. 80 patients newly diagnosed with HIV commenced on life-saving treatment. A 97% retention rate achieved for treatment in a patient group of 180. At 3%, our mortality rate is...
HIV – there is now action because there is knowledge
The district hospital doctors were worried about this child, a 10-month old girl with a serious respiratory infection. They were treating her for pneumonia as well as for TB, but every day her breathing continued to worsen. She was tiny for her age, but despite...
Energy and persistence conquer all things – HIV training is being rolled out
As you may have read this week we farewelled the wonderful Dr Eleanor MacMorran – all though there were plenty of tears, we know she’ll be back again early next year. Eleanor, an Infectious Diseases specialist from Tasmania, joined us two years ago when...
Australian Volunteers International (AVI’s) doing good
The below story appeared on the Australian Embassy’s facebook page about ‘OUR JESS’ – one of the marvellous Australians currently working as an AVI….link About Jess Harries…. Australia in Timor-Leste Health NGO Maluk Timor has...
Proud Dr Eleanor – our HIV mentor
Ano waves a smiling young man out of the door. “Pasiente numeru 97, doutora!” he tells me, with a big grin. Here in our HIV clinic in Dili, Ano is our chief counsellor and phlebotomist combined. He is jubilant, since this patient was diagnosed with HIV some years...
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...