Many health advocates for pushing for increased awareness of and battling misinformation against sexual and reproductive health rights (SRHR) in the Philippines.
This as the country sees a rise in adolescent pregnancies, based on data from the Civil Registration and Vital Statistics (CRVS).
The 2024 Census of Population by the Philippine Statistics Office showed the annual population growth dropped from 1.63% (2015-2020) to 0.80% (2020-2024, the pandemic).
However, the CRVS reported an increase in adolescent pregnancies among girls aged 10 to 14 years old, from 2,411 births in 2019 to 3,343 in 2023.
The Philippine divisions of the pharmaceutical company Bayer Philippines and the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) are teaming up to encourage young Filipinos to be more open to discussions about SRHR, contraception, pregnancy and other sexual education topics.
“We are putting young people at the center ensuring they have the knowledge, skills, and support to make informed choices and to advocate for themselves and their communities,” UNFPA Philippines Country Representative Neus Bernabeus said during a World Contraception Day conference last September 26 in Bayer Philippines’ Taguig office.
Bernabeus stressed that reproductive health is a human right, contraception saves lives, and everyone deserves accurate information on both.
“Access to reliable, unbiased knowledge about contraception is essential,” Bernabeus continued. “We must work together to combat misinformation that puts lives at risk.”
A representative from the Commission on Population and Development, on behalf of executive director Lisa Grace Bersales, shared data that over nine million Filipinos are undergoing family planning as the country’s fertility rate dropped to 1.9.
The figures show a societal shift toward planned parenthood and enable the country to harness its demographic divide, as well as enable women and couples to recognize their reproductive rights without stigma or barriers.
This is 42% of sexually active unmarried women lack access to their preferred method and there is still a low engagement of men, thus the need to redouble efforts to ensure equitable access to modern contraceptives, especially to marginalized groups.
“[We envision] a world where every pregnancy is wanted [and to] normalize discussions on reproductive health,” Bayer Philippines’ Managing Director Angel-Michael Evangelista said.
Also present at the conference was THE FORUM For Family Planning and Development through its president, Dr. Corazon Raymundo, who emphasized the non-government organization’s commitment to advancing SRHR for all.
Raymundo noted that while the Reproductive Health Law of 2012 affirms SRHR as a universal right, there were still many young Filipinos and marginalized groups like the queer community, persons with disabilities and Indigenous Peoples who remain excluded and denied their SRHR needs.
This exclusion makes the Philippines one of the Southeast Asian countries with the highest rates of adolescent pregnancy, HIV, and gender-based violence.
“We must recognize that this is not just a health issue, it intersects with societal challenges that affect people’s daily lives,” ended Raymundo. “Building an inclusive future requires acknowledging the meaningful participation, representation, and empowerment of people and communities.”