Demographic and Health Survey 2009-10 - Timor-Leste Ministry of ...

Postnatal Care. The majority of women (68
percent) did not receive a postnatal check.
Among those who received postnatal care, 16
percent received it in less than four hours after
delivery, 5 percent received care within 4 to 23
hours, and 3 percent received care within the first
two days. Seven percent received postnatal care
3 to 41 days following delivery.
Maternal Mortality. Maternal mortality in
Timor-Leste is high relative to many developed
countries. Respondents reported 120 maternal
deaths in the seven years preceding the survey.
The maternal mortality rate, which is the annual
number of maternal deaths per 1,000 women age
15-49, for the period zero to six years preceding
the survey, is 0.96. Maternal deaths accounted
for 42 percent of all deaths to women age 15-49;
in other words, more than two in five Timorese
women who died in the seven years preceding
the survey died from pregnancy or pregnancyrelated
causes. The maternal mortality ratio,
which measures the obstetric risk associated with
each live birth for the seven years preceding the
survey is 557 deaths per 100,000 live births (or
alternatively, about 6 deaths per 1,000 live
births). The 95 percent confidence interval places
the true MMR for 2009-10 anywhere between
408 and 706.
CHILD HEALTH
Childhood Mortality. Under-5 mortality for
the most recent period (0-4 years before the
survey or, roughly, during the calendar years
2005-2009) is 64 deaths per 1,000 live births.
This means that 1 in 16 children born in Timor-
Leste dies before the fifth birthday. Seventy
percent of deaths among children under age 5
occur during the first year of life: infant mortality
is 45 deaths per 1,000 live births. During infancy,
the risk of neonatal deaths and postneonatal
deaths is 22 and 23 per 1,000 live births,
respectively.
Data from the TLDHS for the three five-year
periods preceding the survey indicate a decline in
childhood mortality. This is consistent with
comparison of the TLDHS 2009-10 mortality
data with the 2003 DHS survey results, which
shows a substantial (23 percent) improvement in
child survival. For example, under-5 mortality
declined from 83 per 1,000 live births during the
period 1999-2003 to 64 per 1,000 live births
during the period 2005-2009. This decline is
caused principally by a decrease in the infant
mortality rate, from 60 deaths per 1,000 for the
zero to four years preceding the 2003 DHS to 45
xxvi | Summary of Findings
per 1,000 during the same period prior to the
2009-10 TLDHS.
Childhood Vaccination Coverage. Fiftythree
percent of Timorese children age 12-23
months are fully immunized, and 23 percent
received no vaccinations. Forty-seven percent of
children age 12-23 months are fully vaccinated
by 12 months of age. The percentage of children
fully vaccinated nearly tripled from 18 percent in
2003.
Seventy-seven percent of children received
the BCG vaccination, 75 percent received the
first DPT dose, and 75 percent received the first
polio dose. Coverage for all three vaccinations
declines with subsequent doses; 66 percent of
children received the recommended three doses
of DPT, and 56 percent received three doses of
polio. These figures reflect dropout rates (which
represent the proportion of children who received
the first dose of a vaccine but who did not get the
third dose) of 12 percent for DPT and 25 percent
for polio, respectively. This is a huge improvement
from 2003 when the dropout rates for DPT
and polio were 45 and 62 percent, respectively.
Sixty-eight percent of children received the
measles vaccine. Hepatitis B coverage varies
slightly from DPT coverage, although they have
been given together in a tetravalent vaccine since
2007. This difference is likely due to the
inclusion of a small number of children who
received the DPT vaccine before the tetravalent
vaccine was introduced.
Childhood Illness and Treatment. Among
children under 5 years of age, 2 percent had
symptoms of acute respiratory infection (ARI) in
the two weeks preceding the survey. Seven in ten
children with symptoms of ARI (71 percent)
were taken to a health facility or provider, and 45
percent were prescribed antibiotics.
One-fifth of children (19 percent) under 5
years of age were reported to have had fever in
the past two weeks. Seventy-three percent of
children with a fever were taken to a health
facility or provider for treatment. Six percent of
children under age 5 with fever in the two weeks
preceding the survey were given antimalarial
drugs, and 36 percent received antibiotics.
Sixteen percent of all children under the age
of 5 had diarrhea in the two weeks before the
survey, and 1 percent had diarrhea with blood.
Overall, 72 percent of children with diarrhea
were taken to a health provider for treatment of
diarrhea. Seventy-eight percent of children with