A young mother holds her child in a temporary shelter for families displaced by conflict in the southern Philippines. Photo by Mark Saludes
Sep 8 2023
Under the Adolescent Pregnancy Prevention Act, an inter-agency council will be created as the country’s “policy-making body responsible for the formulation and implementation of policies and programs that shall provide family-oriented, adolescent-friendly sexual and reproductive health programs”.
The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) Philippines welcomed the passage of the bill, which it said “is a major step forward in reducing adolescent pregnancies and ensuring the rights of young people in the Philippines.”
Dr Leila Joudane, Philippines Country Representative of UNFPA, said teenage pregnancy has “a devastating impact on the health, education, and economic opportunities of young women, and it is a major obstacle to the country’s development”.
She said the bill will help young people access information and services “to make informed and responsible choices” about their sexual and reproductive health and “prevent unwanted pregnancies”.
Although adolescent pregnancy among those 15-19 years old has gone down to 7.2% in 2021 from 14.4% in 2013, the Philippines still has one of the highest adolescent birth rates among ASEAN countries, according to UNFPA.
The Philippine Statistics Authority reported that the number of births by mothers aged 10-14 years has also shown a slight increase – 1,903 in 2016 and 2,113 in 2020.
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