What do you think are the reasons for the high unmet need of FP in the Philippines?
The Reproductive Health Law guarantees access to various family planning methods as well as facilities. Access and proper health education are the main barriers to improving the country’s need for family planning among its citizens. Prior to the implementation of the RH Law, contraceptives and other birth control methods were inaccessible for many Filipinos, especially the impoverished. According to a study conducted by Guttmacher Insitute (2010), only 41% of women from the lower class use contraceptives as compared to 50% of women from the upper class. They also mentioned that the reason behind this difference in number is the lower use of sterilization among impoverished women. Furthermore, the inaccessiblity of contraceptives still prevails since there is much controversy and issue surrounding the topic which is also the reason for the arduous process of signing the RH Bill into law. For so long, such a matter was not a priority among policymakers. Additionally, since the use of natural family planning methods is acceptable in the religious context of the country, artificial methods are less likely to be an option among women. More importantly in the context of inaccessible contraceptives, health education is also important to raising awareness on the topic. With appropriate education, couples are given proper options as to the ways to plan a family or even to observe safe sex.
What are ways you can suggest to increase the practice of FP in the country? Give least 1-2 suggestions.
1. Ensure that the Reproductive Health Law is properly implemented. Signing it into law does not guarantee that its provisions will be used to the fullest extent and advantage of the people. The government should ensure that the relevant institutions and figures are also informed about the law so that they may be able to extend their knowledge to people who direly need access to the services mentioned in the provisions of the law.
2. Empower health professionals. An empowered health care provider is an empowered community since it is through them that government services are made available to the general public. Empowering health professionals, especially those working in rural areas will help in the dissemination of information on family planning.
3. Assess those who truly need FP and ensure that they have access to FP methods. In connection to ensuring that the RH Law is properly implemented, the government should first assess the target population of the law. The people who are most affected by ineffective and inaccessible family planning methods. Through this, they can work all the way up to the people who already have access to contraceptives and other FP services since before.
References:
Guttmacher Institute. (2010). Facts on Barriers to Contraceptive Use In the Philippines. https://www.guttmacher.org/sites/default/files/factsheet/fb-contraceptives-philippines.pdf