Answer the following questions and post your answers here. Cite references if possible.
- What do you think are the reasons of high unmet need of FP in the Philippines?
Along with poverty, reproductive health is one of the biggest issues the Philippines is currently facing. Despite this, the issues still seemed to be unheard and unresolved because of some reasons including lack of awareness, availability of resources, and most importantly, religious affiliations which we hope will be improved someday.
In a study by Latorre (2019), she conducted a research among young women within the age of 15 to 19 based on the data from the National Demographic Health Survey 2017. She found out that while this age group is more sexually active than others, they still lack education on family planning as well as the possibility of contracting sexually transmitted disease. It is actually disturbing that most women (68%) who participated in this survey reported secondary education as their highest level of education yet they still lack the knowledge on the possibility of getting pregnant after giving birth and before the start of their menstrual cycle. In addition to this, according to Likhaan, an organization centered for women’s health, most women believe that engaging in sexual activities infrequently is unlikely to get them pregnant even though there are more effective modern contraceptive methods they can use. This is mainly why family planning is not normalized especially in impoverished areas.
Second, the availability and the cost of resources have also become common reasons why there is a high unmet family planning in the Philippines. According to Likhaan, 15% of married women has unmet need for family planning in 2008 which is higher than 8% from 2003. It is also said that the cost is even a hindrance for single women who are sexually active. In a report by de Leon (2012), poverty has negatively affected family planning. For instance, a woman who has not finished school and had 12 children said she had heard of birth control pills but could not afford it. Instead, she used the money to buy food for her children. Her situation is only a representation of other poor women who cannot afford to buy contraceptives to control pregnancy.
Furthermore, I believe that religion has a greater influence on the Filipino’s views on birth control. Each religion has their own beliefs where it can affect the family planning methods of parents. For instance, Catholics are pro-life which is why any forms of contraception such as birth control pills, withdrawal, sterilization, and condoms are strictly prohibited. The bible states that children are blessings and gifts from God which is why a woman should keep the baby when she is pregnant. This ideology prevents single as well as married women to carefully plan their pregnancy.
Family planning is very important for the woman and her family. This ensures the stability of her family so I do not see any problems in promoting and supporting it. Instead, I am hoping that with the Reproductive Health Law being implemented, it can reduce existing issues in reproduction such as teenage pregnancy, deficient knowledge on sex education, prevalence of STD’s, and domestic abuse by addressing the reasons why there is high unmet needs of family planning in the Philippines.
- What are ways you can suggest to increase the practice of FP in the country? Give least 1-2 suggestions.
There are ways to influence the need to increase the practice of family planning in the Philippines such as increase access to resources, increase capacity of family planning providers, and media-based dissemination.
- Increase access to resources
One way to increase the practice of family planning in the Philippines is to increase access to contraceptives. This can be achieved by making sure that the local government officials prepare and approve the papers for request of stocks for contraceptives. In this way, the supply of contraceptives made available in health centers and public facilities will not run out. Private sectors may also opt to partner with our non-profit organizations such as Likhaan to distribute condoms and other educational materials the youth can read and understand. In addition to this, I do think that increasing the allotment of fund for reproductive health is important especially for single people who are sexually active as well as the youth.
- Increase capacity of family planning providers
More family planning providers should be trained and assessed on their ways of communicating and teaching the clients. They should be able to provide the family planning needs of the clients. Furthermore, they should be able to provide care to different types of clients with respect and without prejudice to encourage more people to consult on family planning.
- Media-based dissemination
Since we are living in the era of modern technology, we should also put it into good use by holding webinars with ambassadors advocating for improved reproductive health, providing accessible learning materials such as brochures and infographics, and encouraging more people to participate. Holding online support groups during the pandemic may also help increase the normalization of family planning in the Philippines as the people will get to gain insights from one another.
References:
Belanger, E., & Mutunga, A. (2016, September 26). 4 ways to strengthen family planning programs. Devex. Retrieved February 25, 2022, from https://www.devex.com/news/4-ways-to-strengthen-family-planning-programs-88811
de Leon, S. L. (2012, December 21). In Philippines, a 14-year fight for birth control. CNN. Retrieved February 25, 2022, from https://edition.cnn.com/2012/09/04/health/philippines-birth-control/index.html
Latorre, A. (2019). FACTORS ASSOCIATED WITH UNMET NEED FOR FAMILY PLANNING AMONG YOUNG WOMEN IN THE PHILIPPINES. Philippine Journal of Health Research and Development, 23(2). https://pjhrd.upm.edu.ph/index.php/main/article/view/276
Vijana - “Youth”, Minds Up: Increasing Awareness, Availability, and Quality of Family Planning Services for Youth. (2015, October 30). The David and Lucile Packard Foundation.