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International Alumni Award - Special Commendation

Ovania Auxiliadora de Fatima Mendonca

Class of 2015 - Bachelor of Health Science
Image of Ovania Mendonca
2023 International Alumni Award Special Commendation recipient Ovania Mendonca

After graduating with a Bachelor of Health Science in 2015, Ovania worked closely with the Ministry of Health and its stakeholders within Timor-leste to contribute to the management of Timor-Leste’s Health and other socio-economic challenges.

Working in Migration Health at the International Organisation for Migration, Ovania led the country's first ‘active case finding for Tuberculosis’ program. Tuberculosis affects 500 in every 100,000 inhabitants in Timor-Leste, representing the second-highest incidence rate in the Southeast Asian region, and one of the highest in the world.

Ovania is now the Program Coordinator for Nutrition, Humanitarian and Disaster Risk Reduction Management, the Australian NGOs Cooperation Program, and the Australian Volunteer Program at the Australian Embassy in Dili. She oversees bilateral engagement arrangements between the Government of Timor-Leste and the Australian Government, and facilitated large-scale humanitarian response from Australia to Timor including the deployment of AUSMAT from Darwin to Dili during the devastating large-scale floods that affected Timor-Leste in 2021.
 

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