Who We Are

Saúde Ba Ema Hotu (Health for All)

Mission Statement

Saúde Ba Ema Hotu seeks to improve the health and wellbeing of individuals and families in Timor-Leste through the direct work of our healthcare professionals as well as through partnerships with government, development partners and non-government organisations. 

Our Objectives

Saúde Ba Ema Hotu’s key objectives are to:

  • ensure that all Timorese have access to quality healthcare services, including women, children, the disadvantaged and the disabled;
  • provide effective, sustainable and integrated services to address the socio-economic determinants of health , through innovative, collaborative and community-led approaches; and
  • promote education that creates and sustains healthier communities, through sustained focus on school health initiatives, and on highly prevalent risky behaviours, including tobacco and alcohol use.

Our Values

In working to achieve our objectives, Saúde Ba Ema Hotu will be guided by the following values:

  • Compassion
  • Respect
  • Responsiveness
  • Collaboration
  • Innovation
  • Integrity

The Challenge

Good health is essential for a good quality of life.  All Timorese people, regardless of where they live, are entitled to healthcare and a quality of life that provides for their human dignity.

The good health and wellbeing of people depends upon the provision of healthcare as well as addressing the socio-economic determinants of health  including water and sanitation, housing, nutrition, power, education and household income.

Since the Restoration of Independence Timor-Leste has made positive progress in healthcare outcomes.  However, as a post-conflict and Least Developed Country, Timor-Leste faces substantial challenges in providing for the health and dignity of its people.  With most Timorese living in rural areas, one of the greatest challenges is providing services in remote and difficult to access villages. 

While there are existing programs providing healthcare, there remain gaps in coverage and people and families are left behind.  With limited resources in the sector and weak coordination with and involvement of local communities, the most remote areas often become neglected.

This means that too many Timorese are missing out on adequate healthcare and other critical services that provide for a dignified quality of life.

The challenge has been set by the Sustainable Development Goals, agreed by the United Nations General Assembly for the year 2030, which provides a universal call to action to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure that all people enjoy peace and prosperity.

By adopting the 2030 Agenda, Member States, including Timor-Leste, have committed to leave no one behind in the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals.

‘Sustainable Development Goal 3: Ensure healthy lives and promote wellbeing for all at all ages’ sets out a range of targets in the health sector.  This includes to:

‘Achieve universal health coverage, including financial risk protection, access to quality essential health-care services and access to safe, effective, quality and affordable essential medicines and vaccines for all.’

The goal of universal healthcare for all is also shared by the World Health Organisation which works to ‘promote health, keep the world safe and serve the vulnerable’.  As part of this commitment, the WHO has a ‘goal to ensure that a billion more people have universal health coverage’ with a ‘focus on primary healthcare to improve access to quality essential services’.

Sustainable Development Goal 3, and the goals of the World Health Organisation, will only be achievable in Timor-Leste if we are able to reach and support women, children and men in remote and difficult to access villages.

Our Strategic Approach

Saúde Ba Ema Hotu adopts a holistic approach to improving health and living conditions through providing direct healthcare services, as well as coordinating with other organisations to provide a wider range of essential health-related services mainly to people living in remote areas.  Besides providing quality health care services, Saúde Ba Ema Hotu also serves as a stewardship agent, by engaging with both service providers and local communities to ensure that essential services to address socio-economic determinants of health reach those who need it most.

Through its work Saúde Ba Ema Hotu will be able to identify areas of care that may not be supported and will seek to work, together with the Ministry of Health and other health care providers, to meet these needs.

Saúde Ba Ema Hotu seeks to complement the work of the Ministry of Health in remote areas.  Through close cooperation and collaboration Saúde Ba Ema Hotu will ensure that its work in no way duplicates that of the Ministry of Health.

Our Governance Structure

Saúde Ba Ema Hotu is committed to good governance including transparency, accountability and effectiveness.  Saúde Ba Ema Hotu is a legally registered non-government organisation governed by a Board of Administration consisting of a range of experienced professionals and healthcare workers who are responsible for setting the strategic direction of the organisation as well as establishing polices for its management and conducting oversight of its operations to ensure effective performance and operation.  The Board appoints a Chair who presides over its meetings and is responsible for ensuring that the Board is effective in setting and implementing Saúde Ba Ema Hotu’s strategy and activities.

The Board appoints an Executive Director who is responsible for managing the daily operations of Saúde Ba Ema Hotu including its administration, implementation of programs and its planning.  The Executive Director is supported by a Secretary, and a Treasurer of the organisation. 

Saúde Ba Ema Hotu has adopted a high level of management and financial accountability, which is overseen by a Fiscal Board made up by members who are not part of the organisation’s management.  External auditors will also be engaged to provide an independent opinion on the integrity of Saúde Ba Ema Hotu’s financial statements and activities.

The following is an organigram of the governance structure of Saude ba Ema Hotu: