approach to improving adolescent and youth
health in the country. The TWG is led by the
DOH and the National Youth Commission, with
Secretariat support provided by the POPCOM.
The TWG has conducted a mapping of adolescent
health and development programs, projects, and
activities of various program stakeholders, and is
reporting regularly to the Reproductive Health
(RPRH) Law National Implementation Team (NIT).
6. Supporting more researches and improving the
available data on adolescent pregnancy and its
determinants.
Evidence-based Planning and Strategy
Formulation
•
National Summit on Teenage Pregnancy
As a result of President Duterte’s directive to
convene all Adolescent Health and Development
stakeholders to highlight teenage pregnancy as
a social concern, DepEd, together with DOH
and NEDA, in partnership with the United
Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and the
Center for Health Solutions and Innovations
(CHSI), conducted a Teen Pregnancy Summit
last 22 August 2019. Dubbed as “Kapit Kamay:
Empowering the Youth to Make Informed
Choices,” the Summit, which gathered 500
participants representing government, civil society
organizations, faith-based organizations, and
youth sector representatives. served as a platform
for stakeholders to share their experiences and
knowledge on the issues surrounding teenage
pregnancy.
As a culminating activity, former NEDA Secretary
Ernesto Pernia led the “Manila Declaration
on addressing the Education, Health and
Development Issues on Early Pregnancy”, where
participants committed to urgent and concrete
actions to curb the burgeoning teenage pregnancy
in the country.
Some of the major commitments adopted were:
1. Fully implementing age-appropriate and
culturally sensitive Comprehensive Sexuality
Education (CSE);
2. Scaling up of adolescent-friendly health services;
3. Encouraging genuine participation of
adolescents in the development of policies and
programmes;
4. Guaranteeing that all adolescents complete
school, especially girls;
5. Protecting adolescents from sexual violence,
discrimination and harmful practices; and
National Condom Strategy to Protect Young
People from HIV/AIDS. DOH, with assistance
from UNFPA, developed a National Condom
Strategy to improve access and availability of
condoms for key populations to reduce HIV
transmission and unplanned pregnancies in
the Philippines. The strategy was developed
based on a 2018 assessment of the country’s
condom promotion program, and validated by
key stakeholder.
Major principles adopted in defining the
strategy are: 1) adoption of a Total Market
Approach (TMA), 2) use of data and evidence
especially about key populations to design
interventions; 3) aligning within the context
of broader HIV prevention and treatment
strategies; 4) meeting human rights standards;
5) addressing gender-related barriers to
condom use; 6) ensuring counseling and
education on condoms for triple protection
against HIV, STIs and unintended pregnancy,
and 7) integrating condom procurement to the
DOH’s supply and commodity security plan.
•
Human-Centered Design (HCD) Approach.
With assistance from USAID’s ReachHealth
Project, DOH and POPCOM, together with
young people, parents, guardians, teachers,
and health workers, participated in a HumanCentered Design (HCD) approach in analyzing
the current state of adolescent sexual and
reprodutive health in the Philippines and
identifying solutions to reduce teenage
pregnancy.
Specifically, in August 2019, a team from
USAID’s ReachHealth project consulted
over 200 individuals in the cities of Manila,
Cavite, Iloilo, and Davao on solutions to the
question “How might we reduce unintended
teenage pregnancy in the Philippines?” Based
on the consultations, the team identified
12 key insights around the issue of teenage
68 2019 Annual Report Responsible Parenthood and Reproductive Health Act of 2012
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