RH, FAMILY PLANNING CRITICAL VS POVERTY

REPRODUCTION health and family planning programs will play a critical role in ending severe poverty by 2040, according to the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA).

In a statement released on Friday, NEDA said its head, Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Karl Kendrick Chua, laid out the government’s reproductive health and family planning programs at the recent International Inter-Ministerial Conference on Population and Development, which was co-hosted by the Partners in Population and Development (PPD) and the United Nations Population Fund.

Chua, who spoke before foreign ministers and senior government officials from the 27 PPD member states, said the government understands the significance of reproductive health and family planning programs in achieving its long-term aim of eradicating extreme poverty.

“As such,” he was quoted as adding, “we have rolled out various policies and programs which affirm our commitment to achieving the goals of the International Conference on Population and Development Programa of Action and Sustainable Development Goals.”

The 2017-2022 Philippine Population Management Program (PPMP) is one of the programs serving as the blueprint for implementing population-related programs, projects, and activities, Chua said. Its goal is to assist couples and parents in having the number and spacing of children they wish, as well as to limit the number of teenage pregnancies in the country.

He said Executive Order 12 in 2017 supports the achievement of zero unmet need for modern family planning as well as the implementation of the National Program on Population and Family Planning.

Similarly, the National Safe Motherhood Program strives to provide low-cost pregnancy treatments for Filipino women in order to reduce maternal and child mortality rates.

Educational institutions have integrated comprehensive sexuality education and adolescent reproductive health into their curriculum, Chua said. This gives youth crucial advice on the cognitive, physical and social elements of sexuality as well as their reproductive health concerns.

The government has also strengthened its social protection programs for teenage mothers and their children to improve their access to nutrition and mental health services, and give them the chance to return to school and find gainful employment.

“All of these initiatives are geared toward our goal to ensure the health and safety of every Filipino family. As we collectively recover from the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, let us continue working together to intensify our efforts in lowering maternal and child mortality, preventing unplanned pregnancies, and empowering more people to make informed choices on reproductive health and family planning,” Chua said.