Midwives Get Motorcycles to Save Mothers' Lives in Timor-Leste

UNITED NATIONS, NEW YORK — Midwives in Timor-Leste will be able to better reach pregnant women across the country by moving around on motorcycles contributed by UNFPA, the United Nations Population Fund. The 80 new motorcycles, delivered to Timor-Leste’s Ministry of Health yesterday, will help the midwives to widen their outreach to the communities they serve, especially in remote rural areas.

Expanding midwives services is among the main health objectives of the newly independent State. That is particularly crucial to reduce the country’s high level of maternal deaths, which, at an estimated 850 per 100,000 live births, is the highest in Asia and the Pacific. It is estimated that only one quarter of all deliveries in Timor-Leste are currently attended by a trained midwife. Increasing the number of midwife-assisted deliveries will help lower maternal death rates.

“The problem is that there are just not enough midwives in the country,” said Daniel Baker, UNFPA Chief of Operations in Timor-Leste, during yesterday’s handover ceremony in the capital, Dili. “Because the areas that the midwives service are often very extensive, with many remote locales, we can only make a difference if we can expand their outreach. That is what these motorbikes are meant to do – to give midwives, especially rural midwives, the opportunity to carry out more pre- and post-natal care visits and to enable them to reach women in remote locations at the time of delivery.”

The particular motorcycle model was especially chosen by UNFPA for this task because they can be easily handled by the midwives and are strong enough to traverse the rugged terrain of rural districts in Timor-Leste. Community health centres and health posts identified by the Ministry of Health in all 13 districts of the country will be receiving the motorcycles. Depending on their needs, some districts will be receiving as many as seven of the vehicles.

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UNFPA is the world’s largest multilateral source of population assistance. Since it became operational in 1969, the Fund has provided sustained assistance to developing countries to address their population and development needs.

Contact Information:

Abubakar Dungus
Tel.: +1 (212) 297-5031
Email: dungus@unfpa.org

Micol Zarb
Tel.: +1 212 297 5042
Email: zarb@unfpa.org