The Medical Fund for Timor-Leste

The Medical Fund for Timor-Leste is dedicated to improving health care for the people of this impoverished Southeast Asian country, which achieved independence in 2002 following decades of civil war. Considered to be the poorest country in Asia, Timor-Leste occupies the eastern half of the island of Timor, located 400 miles northwest of Darwin, Australia.

The Fund supports the work of Dr. Dan Murphy at the Bairo Pite Clinic in Dili, Timor-Leste’s capital and largest city. Dr. Murphy founded the clinic in 1999 as a start-up disaster relief effort in the war-ravaged country, which lacked even the most basic health care. He and a handful of volunteers began providing desperately needed services free of charge to the children, women and men of Timor-Leste.

Today, the Bairo Pite Clinic treats more than 600 patients free of charge every day — a remarkable accomplishment given a shoestring budget and woefully inadequate facilities. Integral to the clinic’s operation is a training program aimed at building a modern health care system for Timor-Leste by preparing Timorese as nurses, midwives, HIV counselors, tuberculosis specialists and other health care professionals.

To help build a healthy future for the people of Timor-Leste, the Fund is seeking tax-exempt contributions for two purposes:

1. To support and sustain the current day-to-day operations of the Bairo Pite Clinic;
2. To replace the current clinic facilities with a permanent hospital, clinic and medical school to serve Timor-Leste’s rapidly growing population.