Pacific Spotlight: Francisco Borges driving health education and emergency preparedness in Timor-Leste
28 Jun 2025
Written by Carla Yeung
Francisco Borges is a name synonymous with dedication, leadership and innovation in healthcare education in Timor-Leste. A registered nurse with more than two decades of experience, Borges has built a distinguished career across clinical care, emergency response, hospital administration and training.
Today, he serves as the national lead for in-service training at the Instituto Nacional de Saúde Pública de Timor-Leste (INSP-TL), where he oversees clinical and laboratory training programs for doctors, nurses and allied health professionals across the country.
His diverse background in intensive care, emergency care, ambulance services, hospital administration and teaching – underpins his unwavering commitment to building local capacity and ensuring that quality care reaches every corner of the country.
Borges began his collaboration with the National Critical Care and Trauma Response Centre’s (NCCTRC) Regional Engagement Program (REP) in 2017, when he first completed the Major Incident Medical Management and Support (MIMMS) course. Since then, he has been a strong advocate for MIMMS training across Timor-Leste, playing a pivotal role in building Timor-Leste’s emergency response capacity.
A recent milestone was the first in-country delivery of the MIMMS General Instructor Course (GIC), with Borges among nine local participants to become certified instructors. The following day, he joined three peers in co-delivering a Hospital MIMMS course, tailored to the Timorese context and delivered in Tetun, with support from REP. This approach ensured cultural relevance and improved accessibility for local participants.
For a small island country vulnerable to disasters, establishing a local instructor base is a critical step towards self-sustaining emergency preparedness. This kind of training ensures our healthcare workforce is ready to respond in a structured, coordinated way.
One of the clearest demonstrations of this preparedness was during the 2024 Papal visit, which drew a crowd of more than 600,000 people – one of the largest events in the country’s history.
“We used the MIMMS principles to prepare for Pope Francis’ visit. More than 1,400 people received medical care and all of them had a positive outcome. It shows how preparedness can save lives.”
In addition to MIMMS, Borges and his team at INSP-TL work closely with REP to deliver the Essentials of Critical Care (ECC) course, equipping healthcare workers with practical hands-on skills to manage critically-ill patients with the resources available. Simulation-based teaching – a relatively new method in Timor-Leste – is a key feature of the course.
Borges also played a leading role in developing the Trauma in Timor-Leste course, in partnership with the NCCTRC’s REP and Trauma Service teams. The course is uniquely adapted to the country’s healthcare system, geography and the types of trauma commonly encountered.
We see trauma cases every day - car rollovers, motorbike accidents. We needed something that fits our environment and our system. This course teaches our healthcare workers what to look for, how to respond and how to save lives in a systematic way with the resources we have.
At INSP-TL, Borges works alongside National Training Director Gregorio Rangel, who supports his efforts to strengthen the health workforce through training and mentorship.
“Borges’ work is helping to shape the future of health training in Timor-Leste. His commitment to building a network of people who can teach each other in their own language and context, supports health posts and clinics in remote regions. That’s how we create lasting impact,” Rangel says.
Looking ahead, Borges and his team are expanding training efforts across the country by mentoring new instructors and building a sustainable, locally-led network of trainers.
His passion for capacity building extends beyond formal training programs. Following the inaugural Trauma in Timor-Leste course, Borges initiated a pre-hospital communication system to connect rural clinics with emergency teams at referral hospitals. In one case, a remote clinic contacted Borges’ team via a messaging app for help managing a chest wound — step-by-step guidance led to the patient being stabilised and successfully transferred for surgery. “Even small interventions, when backed by the right knowledge, can save lives,” he says.
In 2025, Borges and his colleague Dr Aloto completed a two-week observership in Darwin, working alongside the NCCTRC’s Trauma Service team. There, they observed simulation-based training firsthand—an experience they are now applying to enhance INSP-TL’s newly established simulation centre.
“We established a simulation centre at INSP-TL but we needed to learn how to use it effectively. In Darwin we learned how to design scenarios, run simulations and give meaningful feedback. We’ll take that knowledge back to Timor-Leste to improve training across the country,” he says.
For Borges, this work is more than a career – it’s a personal mission to help others, share knowledge, and ensure that every Timorese person, no matter where they are, can receive the care they need.
