CEDAW/C/SR.l79 English Page 10 (Ms. Walla-Tchangai) risk from tetanus; age? were there any plans to immunize all women of child-bearing 63. What part did women's organizations play in the preparation and implementation of health policies? Finally, what measures were taken to protect women against sexually transmitted diseases, especially AIDS? 64. Ms. NIKOLAEVA thanked the Philippine delegation for its comprehensive and valuable report. As the Vice-Chairperson of the Soviet-Philippine Friendship Society, she had visited the Philippines and had many contacts with Philippine citizens in the USSR. She had seen for herself how far Philippine women had progressed towards equality. She was proud to say that the USSR and the Philippines had worked closely together on the original draft of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women. 65. M~_ll~TELO GARCIA DEL REAL thanked the Philippine delegation for its report. She hoped that the next report would contain more detailed statistics: in particular, she would like to see more information about legal measures to combat prostitution and the way in which they were implemented. For instance, how many people were convicted every year of the sexual exploitation of women, especially girls? 66. Her second question concerned illegal abortions. How many such abortions took place every year, and how many women were convicted of breaking the law against abortion? 67. Ms. LICUANAN (Philippines), replying to the questions put by members of the Committee, said that her Government appreciated the need for measures to protect women victims of civil unrest. The National Commission on the Role of Filipino Women was currently updating the Philippine Development Plan for Women to include measures to combat v iolence against women in the family and during clashes between rebels and the authorities. The latter was an area in which the Government had been unwilling to take any action, but non-governmental organizations had given it a great deal of attention. United Nations bodies, such as the Commission on Human Rights, had also discussed the problem in detail. 68. The 13 workshops referred to on page 22 of document CEDAW/C/13/Add.l7 had all been held, 12 of them having taken place since the submission of the second periodic report, and all of them had contributed greatly to the preparation of the Philippine Development Plan for Women. Further gender-awareness workshops had been organized for key government agencies, and the Philippine Government had received a five-year grant from the Canadian International Development Agency so that the programme could continue. Eventually, such workshops would be held for government employees at all levels, right up to Cabinet level; President Aquino had also agreed to convene a Cabinet meeting every year which would deal solely with women's issues. 69. She had no statistics about the number of teenage pregnancies in the Philippines, but it was undoubtedly a factor in the school drop-out rate. However, she thought that poverty among both boys and girls was a much more important factor. 70. One member of the Committee had suggested that a high-level government body for women's questions should be set up, with its own funds. The possibility had I ...