Leste
Dili, 07 May 2026 (Media Democracia) – The Timor-Leste Midwives Association celebrated World Midwives Day with the theme “The World Needs another Million” on how to invest in all midwives to save lives, especially mothers and children in Timor-Leste. The activity was held in the City 8 Hall.
Vice-Minister for Institutional Strengthening of Health (VMFIS), José dos Reis Magno, thanked the Timor-Leste Midwives Association (APTL) for organizing this important activity to show the commitment of professional health midwives to improve the health of mothers and children in Timor-Leste.
“For the future of the national health system, investing in midwives means investing directly in the dignity of women’s lives, children’s health, and the sustainable development of the nation. Midwives are an important pillar in the primary health service profession and play a role in reducing maternal and child mortality, especially in rural and remote communities.” said Vice Minister of Health José Reis Magno at City 8 this Tuesday (05/05/2026).
He informed that Timor-Leste continues to face important challenges in the health sector. Timor-Leste has over 1.3 million people as of 2022, with annual population growth of around 25 million.
“This increase each year puts great pressure on the national health system, because it increases the need for neonatal, infant, and reproductive health. At the same time, this nation also continues to face structural challenges related to the quality and coverage of health services, especially in rural and hard to reach areas that lack qualified professionals.” he said.
In addition, insufficient infrastructure and limited health equipment affect the delivery of essential services, despite important progress made over the past years, health indicators show that some major challenges still persist.
He added that maternal mortality is still high, with a maternal mortality rate of 215 per 100,000 live births. The mortality data shows 19 per thousand live births for neonatal mortality and 30 per thousand for infant mortality. Only 67% of men receive assistance from health professionals and 35% of women receive adequate postnatal care. These numbers clearly show that strengthening maternal and child health must continue to be a national priority.
Therefore, the role of midwives is very important, midwives are urgent health professionals, they are agents of hope, protection, and social transformation. In many health centers and remote villages, midwives are the first contact between mothers and children and the health system.
“Their daily work saves lives, prevents complications, promotes safe births, and strengthens community trust in the national health system. As Minister of Health of the 9th Constitutional Government, we recognize the strategic importance of midwives in the national development process and the achievement of universal health coverage.” he added.
The Ministry of Health continues to strengthen the health sector through investment in qualified human resources, continuous training, improved working conditions, expansion of health infrastructure, and strengthening of maternal and child health services throughout the national territory. The Timor-Leste National Health Service is organized at municipal, regional, and national levels and depends heavily on the capacity and dedication of frontline health professionals.
He affirmed that the One Million More Midwives program represents an important platform for advocacy and mobilization of international partnerships to ensure that no mother or child is left behind. This initiative strengthens the need to increase investment in the development of health professionals.
In the same place, Agostinha Pires, a midwife from Kakania Health Center, said that the Marobo Health Post, Bobonaro Municipality, covers three (3) villages and seven (7) hamlet, but the midwife also covers two (2) hamlet in Atsabe Administrative Post and one (1) hamlet in Kailaku. In total, ten (10) hamlet receive services from the referred health center.
“At Kakania Health Center, Bobonaro, we provide general services because as a midwife I also take on the role of a doctor, and other roles there. We provide general consultations, consultations for children and adults, vaccinations, and family planning for pregnant women, because there is no doctor there, I work together with a colleague, a nurse who just signed a contract, so we work together, during service, there was a mother in Kailaku sub-district who almost lost her life, but we managed to save her life.” she informed.
She explained that the patient lived in a very remote area across a river, at that time she gave birth alone at home, then the placenta did not come out, causing her to bleed, when the midwives arrived at her residence, they thought the mother had already died because people had already put up a tarpaulin in front of the house.
“When we set up the IV fluids, the ambulance driver was also there so if anything happened the ambulance could take the mother, we put in three Ivs, the mother was still unconscious and people had already been called, but after the three IVs, we had to remove the placenta. The mother was already in critical condition, so the ambulance driver took her to Maliana Hospital. The mother regained consciousness on the way, and we managed to save her.” she said.
During service at Kakania Health Center, the midwife also faces many challenges in the field, such as human resources, because there she works as the only midwife and there is now one contracted nurse, but no doctor.
Report By: Trainees Juliana and Leozalia
Photo By: Trainee Juliana