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Order of Malta Australia

News

Pharmaceuticals delivered to four clinics in Timor-Leste

23/10/2012 


Thanks to the generosity of our supporters, the Order of Malta has recently made a pharmaceuticals shipment to Timor-Leste. The shipment has provided pharmaceuticals to clinics run by the Carmelites in Maubara, Bebonuk, Maubisse and Motael. These facilities provide primary medical care for a significant number of Timorese in underprivileged urban and isolated rural areas.

This project is led by our members in South Australia. Dr Bob Britten Jones, who was a board member of ‘OPAL’ (Overseas Pharmaceutical Aid for Life), initiated a project with the assistance of Dr. Ian Leitch and Mr. Alick Haddad, to purchase and distribute medicines for the clinics at discounted wholesale prices.

Mr. Haddad, a Pharmacist with longstanding contacts in the industry has enabled the Order to purchase suitable pharmaceuticals at wholesale prices and assist with industry donations to maximise the size and quality of these shipments.

Dr. Leitch has first-hand experience in Timor-Leste after serving with the Australian Defence Force at UN Military Hospital in Dili in 2000 and subsequently visiting with a Plastic Surgical Team from the Overseas Specialist Surgical Association (OSSA). His experience has been invaluable in developing the project and prioritising supplies.

However to provide the clinics with the volume of pharmaceuticals necessary to service the clinics, lack of funding is currently inhibiting the progress of the project. Dr. Leitch explains “Even though the pharmaceuticals are purchased at wholesale prices, because of their poverty, most Timorese are not able to afford treatment.  Our provision of pharmaceuticals at no cost, will allow the local population to receive treatment that would otherwise not be possible”.

If you would like to support this project please donate now via our secure online gateway.


 

 

The Australian Association

The Australian Association, formed in 1974, currently has in excess of 300 members and aspirant members across every State and Territory of Australia. We also have ongoing and strong links with the Order’s National Associations throughout the Asia Pacific Region including in Singapore and the Philippines and with members of the Order in New Zealand, Hong Kong SAR, Thailand and Korea. The Order of Malta is committed to serving Our Lords the Poor and Sick worldwide and has done so for over 900 years. This website shares with you the history, mission and current activities of the Order of Malta in Australia, and provides links to the work of the Order world-wide.