SIG Receives Learning Visit From WHO Timor-Leste

As our commitment to being active inactualizing a better place to live  #towardsasaferworld in the global community, on Wednesday, 21 December 2022, SIG received a learning visit from the WHO State Office in Timor-Leste and its staff from government institutions working in the fields of food, medicine, and Timor-Leste’s water safety and quality.

The delegation led by Dr. Odete da Silva Viegas as Director General of Health Services, Ministry of Health Timor-Leste aims to provide practical knowledge on the good laboratory management and laboratory reference systems implemented in Indonesia. In this case, the government of Timor-Leste, in its commitment to protecting public health through the provision of sufficient, nutritious, and safe food needs to be supported by qualified laboratory testing capabilities.

However, careful planning is needed in the development of the national laboratory system to ensure the sustainability of laboratory services considering analytical needs and existing national capacities and resources. Inter-ministerial collaboration and effective engagement with private sectors are critical. During the visit, Dr. Odete explained that currently Timor-Leste still needs time to strengthen the capabilities of domestic testing laboratories, so that urgent/short-term matters that cannot be handled by the government in the future can collaborate  with the SIG laboratory.