Dili, 30 November- WHO South-East Asia’s regional technical meeting on ‘Family Planning and Comprehensive Abortion Care to Accelerate the Reduction in Maternal Mortality’ commenced today in Dili. The meeting brings together WHO experts, government officials and key stakeholders from 10 countries in the South-East Asia to deliberate and emphasize on efforts to improve access to family planning interventions in the region.
The meeting was inaugurated by President of Timor-Leste and Nobel Peace Laureate Dr. José Ramos-Horta. “It is not acceptable for any society or any country to have a high mortality rate of mothers and children,” the President said in his inaugural address. “Abortion is a complex subject and is often criticized. In countries like Timor-Leste, it is even more complex. But I believe that there cannot be any law that can take away from the mothers’ right to decide whether to proceed with the pregnancy or not,” he added.
Minister of Health dr. Odete Maria Freitas Belo expressed her deepest appreciation to the WHO South-East Asia Regional Office for hosting the meeting in Timor-Leste. “Family planning and abortion care is a pressing public health matter in Timor-Leste. I look forward to learn more from the regional and global discussions on this topic during the meeting,” she said.
This is the first high such level technical meeting of WHO to be hosted in Timor-Leste. The meeting’s subject is significantly relevant considering that maternal and child health is one of the regional flagships of the WHO South-East Asia region, and the disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic call for targeted interventions to restore the programmes to their original pace and functions.
“Over the last two decades, the South-East Asia Region has made tremendous progress, achieving a 57.3% reduction in maternal mortality compared to 38% globally, in line with its Flagship Priorities on reducing maternal mortality and achieving universal health coverage,” said WHO Regional Director for South-East Asia Dr. Poonam Khetrapal Singh through the special address delivered by WHO Representative Dr Arvind Mathur on her behalf.
The three-day meeting has brought together WHO experts, government officials and key stake holders from 10 South-East Asian countries including Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Indonesia, Maldives, Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Thailand, and Timor-Leste.
“Low- and middle-income countries account for nearly 94% of all maternal deaths,” said Dr Mathur. “We must accelerate efforts to reduce this mortality. This regional technical meeting brings together experts in the field of family planning under one platform to share their best practices, plan ahead to strengthen services, and in the process reduce maternal mortality in the region,” he said.
The unmet need of family planning services remains high in the region, including the prevalent challenges such as insufficient spacing between pregnancies, unwanted pregnancies, and unsafe abortions. Another prevalent challenge is low demand for family planning services and contraceptive use in countries with high fertility rate. The delegates participating in the Regional Meeting will discuss these prevalent issues and drive solutions to overcome the challenges.
“Our journey towards Universal Health Coverage can only be realized when our most vulnerable people- women and children- are protected,” said Dr Neena Raina, Director, Department of Family, Gender and Life-course, WHO South-East Asia Region.
For more information, contact:
Jyoti Shelar, Communications Consultant, WHO: shelarj@who.int; +67077728051