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...
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...