What do you think are the reasons of high unmet need of FP in the Philippines?
Unmet need for family planning points to the gap between women’s reproductive desire to avoid pregnancy and men’s perception to the use of contraception. Men is considered to be the decision-maker in the family and their overall approval is important. However, men’s perceptions about contraception often differ from those of their wives. It may be considered that reproductive health decision is the woman’s responsibility, but men still has the final say to such decisions. The high unmet need of family planning occurs due to the difference of perception between the couple and the lack of initiative of men to inform themselves about contraception. This perception can be attributed to social, psychological and cultural factors, that heavily influences the decision of the family to utilize family planning services. Due to the difference in perception between men and women, spousal disagreement happens and evidently, Filipino couples have high level of disagreement either in research on contraceptive use or in the design of interventions, especially those dealing with problems of method choice and discontinuation of use.
Another reason for high unmet need of family planning is the excessive cost of contraception. Among families, the First Semester 2021 poverty incidence was estimated at 18.0 percent, which is equivalent to around 4.74 million poor families. Not everyone has the means to avail contraceptives and the financial budget of some family is limited and only allocated to other things that they needed more to support the survival of each family member.
What are ways you can suggest to increase the practice of FP in the country? Give least 1-2 suggestions.
Empowering women and girls
Where women and girls are empowered to choose what happens to their bodies and lives, and they are entitled to choose any of the choice they want regardless of others. Through women empowerment, it will be easier for this group of people to access sexual and reproductive healthcare, and ending horrific injustices like child marriage and gender-based violence.
Removing barriers to contraception
Across the world, some people choose not to use contraception because they are influenced by assumptions, practices and pressures within their nations or communities. These assumptions by the society influences the perception of people to the use of contraceptives. To address this concern, it is important to work with women and men to change their attitudes towards contraception and educate them about its benefit to the family.
Increase funding for family planning program
The percentage of poor families in the Philippines is very prevalent. Moreover, the allocated budget for the healthcare system in the country is limited and it is not enough to accommodate everyone. Increasing the funds will allow healthcare professionals to offer services as well as to provide the right resources to these people. Furthermore, these resources should include contraceptives, and fostering an enabling environment to ensure sexual and reproductive health and rights for women and girls everywhere.
References:
Belanger, E. (2016, September 26). Retrieved March 21, 2022, from https://www.devex.com/news/4-ways-to-strengthen-family-planning-programs-88811
Philippine Statistics Authority. (2021, December 17). Proportion of Poor Filipinos Registered at 23.7 Percent in the First Semester of 2021 | Philippine Statistics Authority. Retrieved March 21, 2022, from https://psa.gov.ph/content/proportion-poor-filipinos-registered-237-percent-first-semester2021#:%7E:text=Among%20families%2C%20the%20First%20Semester,(Tables%201%20and%203).
Population Matters. (2021, October 14). Solutions. Retrieved March 21, 2022, from https://populationmatters.org/solutions?gclid=CjwKCAjwoduRBhA4EiwACL5RP-jJInpOoGWZxI4NbzbQAKaK3XvzQJtaERdl08re6Qo4baQ_pd2DQBoC7SsQAvD_BwE
World Health Organization. (2020, November 9). Family planning/contraception methods. Retrieved March 21, 2022, from https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/family-planning-contraception