What do you think are the reasons for the high unmet need of FP in the Philippines?
Definitely, there are numerous reasons for the high unmet need for Family Planning in the Philippines. But in this forum, I would like to focus on two fundamental determinants in a macro-perspective which are the lack of education and religious-traditional values. Both of which, I believe, are faults in the system rather than the people.
In a developing country like the Philippines, the majority of the health-focused plans are indicated to a specific area of interest, for instance, Manila. There have been mandated governmental programs that encourage and uplift women's and men's literacy when it comes to methods of family planning however the marginalized parts of the Philippines are being left out, if not disregarded. Of course, how would couples react and plan for the spacing and number of children if, in the first place, they are illiterate of how it can be slowed down? And let's say people are literate to an extent, the modern contraceptives, approved as part of the Reproductive Health Law, however and still a problem to discuss, are costly to most couples living below the poverty line. Thus, couples either opt for abstinence and/or withdrawal methods, but these won't be applicable to all especially those who are sexually active. At the same time, these methods do not guarantee positive results.
The second macro-leaning determinant is also webbed to the first argument presented. As discussed, there are mandated governmental programs being conducted and introduced such as the use of modern contraceptives, yet in most cases, it remains a taboo and an opposing idea to Filipinos' religious values. With a rating of 90%, the Philippines is ranked as one of the most highly religious countries. This fact denotes that our values are strongly linked to the churches' philosophies: if the church says it's ethical, we believe it's ethical; if the church says it's immoral, then our decisions follow. Relating it to the case being discussed, the Catholic Church teaches that using artificial contraception methods is unethical as it breaks "natural law"- breaking the natural connection between procreative and the unitive purposes of sex. It turns sex into a non-marital act and that brings a moral dilemma to religiocentric couples.
But despite these known grounds, I am certain that the open and progressive analytics of family planning will come up with inclusive plans that will negate the taboos in the Philippine culture.
What are ways you can suggest to increase the practice of FP in the country? Give least 1-2 suggestions.
The two solutions I am about to suggest focus primarily on the related determinants I discussed previously. First, invest and strengthen the medical discipline, specifically in family planning teaching. Although government bodies have taken initiative in conducting seminars and symposiums about available methods of family planning, they should be more eager to host and implement them regularly. Make sure that every couple participates in the local scene. Allow deployment of more healthcare practitioners to marginalized areas, especially to those identified with a large population index and fertility rate. Besides this, promote the practice of family planning through different media such as radio and tv advertisements, pamphlet/infographics distributions, social media management, and the likes. Let's also include sex education in the high school and college curriculum, knowing that these are the years where adolescents are becoming more curious about talks related to sexual activities.
Second, debunk taboos and communicate effectively to the Catholic Church and other religious organizations against other methods of family planning. I believe that the best way to encourage the mass is to first target where their values are rooted from. If we're able to come up with a common ground where religious values and community responsible meet, then definitely, we'll gain traction from the people. Although this plan might be a bit complicated, we have to do our best to present scientific and well-documented facts. After all, we're talking about promoting people's health and economic development here!