Aggressive drive against teen pregnancy pushed

Senator Sherwin Gatchalian is calling for a more aggressive government response to prevent unwanted pregnancy among young women.

Gatchalian issued the call over the weekend following the release of a Commission on Population and Development or Popcom report that pregnancies among minors aged 10 to 14 was up by 7 percent in 2019 compared to the previous year.

He also warned that the Covid-19 pandemic threatens to further increase the number of adolescent pregnancies, citing experiences from past calamities and disasters.

According to a study by the National Research Council of the Philippines, when Super Typhoon “Yolanda” struck in November 2013, 23.5 percent of teenage girls in Eastern Visayas got pregnant,

Gatchalian said curbing the surge of adolescent pregnancies requires a grassroots approach to reproductive health education.

He said schools and barangay (villages) should be mobilized to reach out to girls and their parents.

Keeping girls in schools is the best strategy to prevent teenage pregnancy, where they can access information and sexuality education, the senator added.

The senator also emphasized the role of parents as health educators in shaping young people’s attitude and behavior. Parents need to be capacitated in terms of effectively talking to their children about sexuality and reproductive health issues. Republic Act 10354, the “Responsible Parenthood and Reproductive Health Act of 2012.” calls for an age-appropriate and development-appropriate reproductive health education, which aims to build knowledge and skills on protecting one’s self from teen pregnancy, sexual abuse, gender-based violence, and responsible teenage behavior, among others.

“Bago pa tumama ang pandemya sa ating bansa ay isang krisis nang maituturing ang pagdami ng mga kaso ng teenage pregnancy sa bansa. Sa ating pagtugon sa krisis na ito, kailangan nating tulungan ang mga kabataan at ang kanilang mga magulang sa pamamagitan ng mga mas pinaigting na programang pang-kalusugan at edukasyon (Even before the pandemic struck, the surge in teenage pregnancy was already considered a crisis. In responding to this crisis, we need to help the youth and their parents through an intensified health and education program),” said Gatchalian.

The lawmaker recently filed Senate Bill 1985, which seeks to institutionalize and establish the Parent Effectiveness Service Program in every city and municipality.

The program aims to assist parents and parent substitutes in building their skills and knowledge to provide quality care during the critical stages of children’s development.

Source: ManilaTimes