Childhood malnutrition and pneumonia in Timor-Leste

Dr Nick Fancourt is a Horizon Fellow and Senior Lecturer in the Sydney Medical School. He also works as a paediatrician at the Children’s Hospital at Westmead. Nick researches childhood pneumonia, particularly in low and middle income countries. He lived in Timor-Leste from 2018-2020, working with local partners on intitiatives to strengthen communicable disease surveillance. As this episodes guest he will discuss child health issues and outcomes in Timor-Leste. Timor-Leste has made significant progress in child survival, with deaths among young children reduced by 50% in the 20+ years since independence. Further progress is needed to achieve Sustainable Development Goal targets and meet strategic health priorities of the Timor-Leste government. Prevention and treatment of pneumonia and malnutrition are essential to these efforts, given the high burden of these conditions. Novel approaches will be needed, especially to reach high-risk groups, and will have global significance.