Midwife on Wheels
How one woman in Timor-Leste saves lives from her motorbike
In developing countries such as Timor-Leste, one-third of all deaths in children under the age of five are linked to malnutrition. Thanks to funding from the European Union (EU) and Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA), World Food Programme runs a programme designed to help children, pregnant women, and breastfeeding mothers from six municipalities in Timor-Leste recover from malnutrition, giving them a chance to live a healthy and active life.
Thirty-one year old Agostinha Pires is famous within the small mountainous town of Marobo, in Timor-Leste, not only because she is the sole midwife to the town’s children, but also because of her fearless motorbike skills.
As Marobo’s only midwife and nutrition focal point, Agostinha bravely rides her motorbike across some of the most challenging mountain territories in Bobonaro municipality, which is famous for its sharp mountain peaks and land-slide prone hills.
Agostinha uses every opportunity she can to tell mothers about healthy eating and good nutrition during her pre- and post-natal visits.
Timor-Leste has one of the highest rates of malnutrition in the world. One in two children suffer from stunting, a form of malnutrition where a child’s height is too low for their age, and just over one in ten children suffer from wasting, where a child’s weight is too low for their height.
“My job is very important because mothers understand why they are malnourished when I conduct health promotion activities. It motivates me to see women and children gaining strength after receiving treatment against malnutrition.”
Agostinha is one of several nutrition focal points fighting malnutrition and changing eating habits in Bobonaro as a part of the Mother Child Health and Nutrition project implemented by the Ministry of Health. She is one of dozens of health staff and nutrition focal points trained by the World Food Programme with funding from the European Union (EU) and Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA).
Since January 2016, the programme has provided treatment and education on nutrition to 12,115 malnourished children, and 14,319 malnourished pregnant or breast-feeding mothers.
Louriano Serreno, the District Public Health Officer in Bobonaro, says Agostinha is one of a kind, with no other female doctors or midwives daring to travel alone at night.
“Agostinha is very dedicated and she works hard,” he says.
Sometimes she rides for up to two hours, on steep mountain roads. “I have never had an accident,” Agostinha says with confidence.
“In case of an emergency I drive at night too. I am never scared,”
Assisting up to 12 deliveries a month, Agostinha thinks she has probably brought 1,000 children into the world over the past eight years.
“Since primary school my dream was to become a health worker or nurse when growing up. I used to help my neighbours or friends when they got sick or injured. I always took care of their wounds,” she explained.
Agostinha’s dream has unfolded and she can spend her career sharing her passion and skills with her community.
Read more about WFP’s work in Timor-Leste.
