What do you think are the reasons of high unmet need of FP in the Philippines?
There are two main causes that come into my mind for the high unmet need of family planning in the Philippines. Mainly, the high influence of religion and the lack of reproductive health education in the country.
The high influence of religion, specifically Christianity, has been the cause for many arguments regarding family planning practices in the country. Before the passing of the RH Law, the church disagreed with population growth as a cause of poverty. Rather, it is the unemployment rate in the country. People don’t need to use contraceptives. An interview was conducted with one mother from Manila. She has 14 children and is interested in having access to contraceptives. A few years ago, she had access to contraceptives; however, the previous mayor of their city, who was known to be a devout Catholic, removed contraceptives from the shelves of clinics run by the city. Because of this, she was taking the pill inconsistently and even resorted to having an illegal abortion more than one time (Lema, 2012). In addition, it is also known that the majority of the Filipinos, too, are devout Catholics. Therefore, they will followthe Church’s teachings that say contraceptives are immoral and that natural family planning should be used. This then becomes a domino effect where currently, it is stigmatized to talk about contraceptives and family planning. However, this should not be the case. An open conversation about these topics will help people understand why it is needed and will pave the way for increased use of family planning methods.
The lack of reproductive health education in the country is also one of the contributing factors for a high unmet need of family planning in the country. As previously mentioned, the influence of Christianity may have brought about perceiving reproductive health and family planning as a taboo or stigma. Because it is not taught in communities, people may also resort to learning about family planning methods in unreliable sources which may also put them at risk for complications if the method is unsafe. In addition, when one is not properly taught the appropriate method, they may accidentally use the method in a wrong way rather than in the correct way that it is supposed to be used. This will only lead to more unwanted pregnancies and may also lead to unsafe abortion. Another factor to consider under reproductive health education is the health education on the side effects and effectiveness of the different family planning methods such as pills or barrier methods. Some women may choose not to take pills because of the side effects that they may potentially experience. It is also important to conduct education about the effectivity of contraceptives because some may view methods as 100% effective.
What are ways you can suggest to increase the practice of FP in the country? Give least 1-2 suggestions.
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Reproductive Health Education in schools and communities. Reproductive health education is important in order to teach people about family planning methods and contraceptives. Many people in the country are aware that there are family planning methods but are unaware of the steps they can take to use them. If a comprehensive reproductive health education is conducted, many will be able to utilize these. This is necessary in order to avoid unwanted pregnancies, and will also serve as an aid in reducing the country’s maternal mortality and morbidity rate.
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Government support and programs related to family planning. Contraceptives and reproductive health education will not be accessible to the general public if the government does not support and distribute these. It is important that the government also views the concern of reproductive health education and maternal mortality and morbidity as one of the top priority issues of the country. When the government prioritizes this, it will be accessible for all and may even be provided at a low cost or even no cost. Thus, the government is important for the implementation and regulation of these. In addition, there are also NGOs who implement programs that center on family planning. They aid communities in health education and provide access to these methods. Overall, both are important in ensuring that reproductive health education and contraceptives cater to all.
References:
Lema, K. (2012). Philippines defies church to push family planning. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-philippines-population-idUSBRE89118220121003