Timor-Leste has an increasingly high exposure to biological threats with epidemic potential. Due to its geography, trans-boundary hazards are also a significant epidemic threat. The country is within a major migratory bird pathway between Australia and Asia and is exposed to possible transmission of animal-to-human disease with pandemic potential, notably the highly pathogenic avian influenza (H5N1). Its borders with Indonesia leave it vulnerable to current outbreaks of foot-and-mouth disease and African swine fever. Despite the country’s early success in containing COVID-19, in 2021 it spread quickly, mostly due to low rates of vaccination, exacerbated by widespread displacement during the April 2021 flood.
