He said that 50 to 100 people were dying every day of curable diseases such as diarrhoea, malnutrition and tuberculosis, or during childbirth. Murphy, who works in a Catholic-run clinic and treats between 100 and 200 people a day, claimed that medical supplies from outside Indonesia were being prevented from reaching East Timor. Another report indicated that 15 doctors had already left the Dili General Hospital, which is now short of staff and drug supplies. Only five general practitioners and 10 specialists remain. There is no surgeon and patients requiring surgery are being sent to the nearby Wirahusada Military Hospital.
Nurses say there are shortages of antibiotics, syringes and intravenous equipment.
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