Dili, October 28, 2024 (Média Democracia) – The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) in Timor-Leste together with the Ministry of Health launched the National Family Planning Campaign which focuses more on the three-year space to have a child, so that it does not impact the health of the mother. This activity was held at BJ Habibie, last Friday.
In the discourse, UNFPA representative in Timor-Leste, Bruce Campbell said that UNFPA has a compromise to improve reproductive health and family capacity in the world.
“Especially in Timor Leste, we are all gathered here to fight for the importance of a three-year gap between children, especially in promoting the recommended gap of three years for mothers to give birth. A three-year gap is not only for health but also as a basic right for families and communities to be healthier,” said the UNFPA representative at BJ Habibie Park, last Friday.
When families can create distance between three-year-old children, they will gain many benefits.
“This space provides time for mothers to recover their physical and mental condition after giving birth and improve their general health, real evidence shows that adequate delivery rooms for children can reduce maternal and newborn mortality rates,” He said.
Babies born at term are more likely to be healthy, have better nutrition, and achieve a good education. Prioritizing simple practices with big impacts will significantly improve the quality of mothers, children, and entire communities.
Through research shows that if a mother delays her pregnancy for two years, then the child mortality rate will decrease from the age of five to 13%, if they delay another year, which is three years, the child mortality rate will increase to 25%. If pregnancy is delayed for three years, the child mortality rate will decrease to 1.8 million each year.
He continued, to achieve this goal, everyone must ensure that everyone can access comprehensive reproductive health services.
“Including counseling, education and the benefits of safe spaces between children. We all need to create an environment where spouse feel confident to make decisions based on their needs and aspirations, let’s all collaborate to raise awareness, reduce stigma and expand access to space resources for children aged three years.” She said.
As the Japanese Ambassador to Timor-Leste, Tetsuya Kimura said that so far the Japanese government has made every effort to provide support to Timor-Leste in the health sector.
“Japan has been providing support to the Timor-Leste Government in efforts to improve services in the health sector. I would like to express my appreciation to the visionary leaders of the Timor-Leste Government who have prioritized the social sector, particularly in the health sector within the scope of national development, in various initiatives where infant health issues are very important.” Said the Japanese Ambassador.
This year, we celebrate 25 years of cooperation between Japan and Timor-Leste that began in 1999, partner with the Government of Timor-Leste, Japanese NGOs, Timor-Leste NGOs and international organizations. Japan has implemented more than 60 health-related projects in the country.
He was proud that the Japanese government’s first project on health in Timor Leste focused on infant health materials in 2002.
“I am pleased to say that our first health project in Timor-Leste focused on infant health in 2002 with the belief that reducing maternal mortality would have a positive impact on child growth and future survival in the country,” He said.
On this occasion, the Deputy Minister for Strengthening Health Institutions, José Dos Reis Magno expressed his appreciation to the partners who have provided technical and financial support for this activity.
“I would like to thank our partners, especially UNFPA and the technical and financial support from the Japanese government for this campaign. We also thank our joint partners such as UNICEF, WHO, DFAT, PHD, MSTL, Plan International, BELUN HAMNASA, religious institutions, PNTL, FDTL, youth organizations, women and children empowerment organizations.” He said.
He said, based on survey data from 2016, the maternal death tax was 195/million of living data.
“Our newborn death tax is 52/1,000 living data and the percentage of death tax for children aged five years and under is 41/1,000 living data. On the other hand, the tax on unsupervised contraception needs is 25% and based on the 2022 population census, our early pregnancy tax is 4.0%, especially for teenagers with low education levels and living in remote areas.” He added.
Evidence shows that children who live less than three years apart are 1,5 times more likely to survive in the first week after birth, and are 2.4 times more likely to live to the age of five.
“Evidence also shows that babies who live less than two years have a high risk of dying in infancy. Giving two years can reduce the percentage of neonatal deaths by 13%, if given three years it will reduce neonatal deaths by 25%,” he said.
This evidence reminds us how important it is to give three years of space to have children to improve maternal and infant health, so that it can provide a bright and prosperous future for mothers, children, families, communities and the country.
Reported by : Estefania
Photo : Estefania