the provision of interpreters). The State also has weak to gather data on discrimination, leaving the NGOs to fulfill this task. 6. Reproductive Health National Inquiry Report of the Commission a. Despite passage of and current national implementation of the Responsible Parenthood and Reproductive Health Act (Reproductive Health Law), challenges continue on de facto availability, accessibility, sufficiency, and adequacy of reproductive health services and information. b. There is apparent criminalization of traditional and indigenous home births in many local government ordinances, while DOH claimed that penalization of home births was not adopted as a policy. The DOH explains the same as a misinterpretation by the LGUs of the DOH’s encouragement of facility based deliveries. With the proliferation of such ordinances, and the outcry of indigenous groups and women in geographically isolated and disadvantaged areas (GIDA), representatives from the DOH admit the need to review and for once clarify the Department’s stand. c. In many instances, health facilities are inaccessible or absent in geographically inaccessible areas, and in cases where they are present and accessible, challenges are posed as to the sufficiency of facilities and equipment and of the supplies of the commodities available. There is also acknowledgment from health workers that there is difficulty in meeting the standards of doctor/nurse/midwife ratio to population served. d. In Mindanao, concerns have been raised on the failure to engage indigenous and religious leaders in the reproductive health agenda and to engage them in information dissemination on reproductive health and rights. Barriers in accessing reproductive health services include lack of information and misinformation on reproductive health, breakdown of service delivery networks, religious and cultural barriers, and unprofessional and / or unethical practices of health service providers. Instances of misinformation due to religion or culture have also been documented which were shown to have affected women and men’s willingness to access reproductive health services. In some cases, while women are generally aware of the available services, they are unwilling to avail of such services due to misplaced religious beliefs or cultural practices. For instance, while a ‘fatwa’ has been issued on the acceptability of reproductive health in Islam, not all Moro women are aware of the same. For indigenous peoples, while elders claim that it is not against indigenous culture, some women refuse to avail of services believing they are breaking cultural or that they have to seek the consent of their husbands. These led to recommendations on the need to improve information dissemination not only on available goods and services, but also to include men, traditional and religious leaders in the reproductive health agenda.

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