While the world has responded quickly and generously to the plight of the people of East Timor by sending medicines and other supplies, it is more urgent at this point to restart basic healthcare services, World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General Dr Gro Harlem Brundtland warned today. Moreover, many nongovernmental organizations, including Doctors Without Borders, Doctors of the World and the International Red Cross movement, are ready to send in trained health personnel but have not been given the support necessary to reach those who need their care.

"Don't put the cart before the horse. For weeks now, over 800,000 people who already had health standards lower than the rest of Indonesia have been deprived of basic medical care. Now, when we have the organizations and the personnel ready and willing to offer the care which could save many lives, we cannot get it to the people in need. We would ask the cooperation of the international community to get that care to the people," said Dr Brundtland as she called on the UN Humanitarian Coordinator, a.i., to facilitate access.

Yet the effort so far has centred on the logistics of delivering medical supplies to East Timor, with the international community stockpiling large amounts of supplies in Dili and the Indonesian government transferring its stocks to the control of the United Nations.

"While the conscientiousness and the rapidity with which these supplies have been shipped is laudable, they do not by itself address the most basic issue," said Dr Brundtland. "We could have boxes and boxes of supplies on hand, but if there's no trained medical staff, mothers will die in childbirth." Dr Brundtland specified that health personnel were needed most urgently to deal with two classes of problem: maternal and child health and infectious disease control.