While we acknowledge the significant efforts that have led to the decrease of maternal

mortality in Timor-Leste between 1990 and 2015 according to the evaluation of the

Millennium Development Goal on improving maternal health, we all know that the task is

far from being finished, and more efforts are needed in the next fifteen years to further

decrease it along with our commitment to the Sustainable Development Goals. 

In addition, we welcome the current focus on the survival of newborns, especially in the

very early period of life, since their survival and the interventions to ensure it are very much

linked to those of their mothers.

The findings of the recent Emergency Obstetric and Newborn Care (EmONC) Needs

Assessment reveal a country-wide deficit in facilities capable of delivering all life saving

signal functions. This single evidence leads to the present EmONC improvement Plan of

Action for the years 2016 to 2019, in line with the targets of the National Reproductive

Health Strategy, and the Health Sector Development Plan

I like to urge all relevant health staff to look carefully into the recommendations of the

present Plan of Action and to contribute to its success from the first to the fourth year.

We also thank our development partners for their contribution, whether technical, material

or financial, so that we can proudly and jointly assess our expected progress at the end of

the Plan.