Our Services

HIAM-Health is a local, non-government organisation, established for the purpose of giving support to the in-patients and out-patients at Dili National Hospital and medical clinics in outlying Sub-districts. HIAM-Health exists particularly for those in extreme poverty who have no means of support while they are in hospital and away from their homes and villages. A large part of the work done by HIAM-Health involves the follow-up care of babies and children suffering from malnutrition, as well as providing support, education and counselling for their parents or care-givers in preventative intervention.

Our services include:

The follow-up care of babies and children suffering with malnutrition after they have been discharged from Dili National Hospital (DNH), as referred by the doctor.

The follow-up of children referred directly from the outpatients' clinics (DNH). These children are usually suffering with moderate malnutrition but without support are at risk of rapid deterioration.

Monitoring of WFH (weight for height ratio) of at risk children and supply of milk/food supplement where appropriate.

The counselling and education of parents/care-givers of children with malnutrition while the children are still in hospital, and the education of parents/care-givers of children with malnutrition referred from the outpatients' clinic.

Palliative and pastoral care visits to patients in hospital and after they have left hospital.

Social support to patients and family in hospital.

In cases of critical need, assistance to repatriate the deceased to their homelands for burial, and financial assistance given to the bereaved in some extreme circumstances.

New Developments in 2006

February 2006: Nutritionist sponsored by Australian Volunteers International (AVI) arrived mid February for 6 months to work with HIAM staff to produce a recipe/menu booklet for everyday use, based on healthy nutrition, which ingredients are economical to purchase and locally grown. Booklet is to be funded by British Embassy Grant (Timor-Leste).

July 2006: Nutritionist/Trainer sponsored by Australian Volunteers International (AVI) arriving July 2006 to work with HIAM staff for 12 months to develop and expand their knowledge on Nutrition and Health Promotion.

Commitment from Australian Volunteers International (AVI) of ongoing support for HIAM-Health with their future requirements for trainers, e.g. a horticulturist/trainer for the proposed Malnutrition Rehabilitation Centre.

The Household/Kitchen Garden Program

As part of its nutritional and educational activities, HIAM-Health is actively encouraging those who attend its programs to develop their own household/kitchen gardens. This concept, which was originally developed as a holistic tool-kit for addressing factors in the poverty cycle in the Somoto region of Nicaragua, has proved to be an outstandingly successful model for reducing rural poverty and malnutrition, and is now being applied in urban contexts in many countries, where it represents a direct, cost-effective and ecologically sound strategy for tackling the socioeconomic and nutritional needs of the poor. (Asian Vegetable Research & Development Centre - Technical Bulletin No 19). Such projects are helping families to transform their backyards into innovative and creative areas of diversified organic food production including vegetables, fruit trees, perennial plants, medicinal plants, worm composters, small animals, and grains.

In East Timor, HIAM-Health is encouraging participating families to create household/kitchen gardens as a small-scale, holistic system by which they can produce a diversity of food, allowing for "a little bit of everything" all year-round. This creates greater food security as opposed to reliance on a single harvest of one or two crops. The development of the 'Patio area' begins right outside the front door, utilising goods that are normally destined for the garbage, such as used housing materials, tyres, cans, and jars to create raised growing beds, instead of requiring large capital output for machinery. In this way, gardeners can more effectively control their soil conditions and continually augment it with organic compost and natural fertilisers. They can produce a variety of crops focusing more on protein, vitamins (fruit and vegetables) and medicinal plants, and allow for the integration of the entire family in the work.

Further development of household/kitchen gardens will be a prominent feature of the educational programs offered by the proposed Malnutrition Rehabilitation Centre, and a 'demonstration' kitchen/household garden will be set up as a working model at the facility.