Strong relationships between the Northern Territory of Australia and Timor-Leste
Nevio Sarmento A , Tessa Oakley A , Endang Soares da Silva B , Ari Tilman B , Merita Monteiro A B , Lucsendar Alves A , Ismael Barreto A , Ian Marr A , Anthony D. K. Draper A C D , Gloria de Castro Hall E , Jennifer Yan A F and Joshua R. Francis A F *A Global and Tropical Health Division, Menzies School of Health Research, Charles Darwin University, Darwin, NT, Australia.
B Laboratorio Nacional da Saude, Timor-Leste Ministry of Health, Dili, Timor-Leste.
C Centre for Disease Control, Northern Territory Department of Health, Darwin, NT, Australia.
D National Centre for Epidemiology and Population Health, Australian National University, Canberra, ACT, Australia.
E Northern Territory Pathology, Northern Territory Department of Health, Darwin, NT, Australia.
F Department of Paediatrics, Royal Darwin Hospital, Northern Territory Department of Health, Darwin, NT, Australia.
Nevio Sarmento is a microbiologist from Timor-Leste, and PhD scholar at Menzies School of Health Research, Charles Darwin University. He continues to provide leadership to microbiology capacity building and research activities in Timor-Leste. |
Tessa Oakley is a microbiologist, PhD scholar and senior laboratory technical advisor with Menzies School of Health Research. She works alongside Timorese scientists and laboratory technicians to mentor and train in microbiology in the National Health Laboratory and referral laboratory sites in Timor-Leste. |
Endang Soares da Silva is a medical scientist and the Executive Director of the National Health Laboratory in Timor-Leste. |
Dr Ari Tilman is a medical doctor and the Director of Clinical Pathology and Microbiology at the National Health Laboratory in Timor-Leste. |
Dr Merita Monteiro is a medical doctor and the Director of Toxicology at the National Health Laboratory in Timor-Leste. |
Lucsendar Alves is a medical scientist and senior project coordinator working with Menzies School of Health Research. |
Ismael Barreto is a medical scientist and former Executive Director of the National Health Laboratory in Timor-Leste, currently working with Partnership for Human Development. |
Dr Ian Marr is an infectious diseases specialist and microbiology based in Canberra, with an ongoing role in mentoring and advising in areas of infectious diseases and microbiology in Timor-Leste. |
Anthony Draper is a senior epidemiologist and medical scientist, working with the Northern Territory Centre for Disease Control, and leading on mentoring in surveillance and epidemiology across Menzies School of Health Research projects in Timor-Leste. |
Gloria de Castro Hall is a senior microbiologist at Royal Darwin Hospital, who has provided significant mentoring and training in the National Health Laboratory in Timor-Leste. |
Dr Jennifer Yan is a paediatrician and infectious diseases specialist who works at Royal Darwin Hospital and co-leads Menzies School of Health Research projects in Timor-Leste. |
A/Professor Joshua Francis is a paediatrician and infectious diseases specialist who works at Royal Darwin Hospital and co-leads Menzies School of Health Research projects in Timor-Leste. |
Microbiology Australia 43(3) 125-129 https://doi.org/10.1071/MA22039
Submitted: 8 June 2022 Accepted: 1 September 2022 Published: 27 September 2022
© 2022 The Author(s) (or their employer(s)). Published by CSIRO Publishing on behalf of the ASM. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC-ND)
Abstract
Strong, enduring partnerships exist between the Northern Territory and Timor-Leste, and in recent years collaborations have led to significant developments in health system capacity in Timor-Leste. Laboratory strengthening has been a key focus; improved diagnostic microbiology capability, especially in the National Health Laboratory, is having an impact on individual patient management and outcomes, epidemiological surveillance, and public health responses to communicable disease challenges including antimicrobial resistance.
Keywords: antimicrobial resistance, bacteriology, epidemiology, global health, health system strengthening, microbiology, Northern Australia, surveillance, Timor-Leste.
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