Number of Filipinos using modern contraception rose by 209,000 in 2013 – report

The number of Filipinos who use modern contraception methods rose by about 209,000 in 2013, according to an international progress report on family planning.

With the declaration that “all women and girls have the right, and must have the means, to decide freely and for themselves whether and when to have children,” the Family Planning 2020 (FP2020)’s progress report for 2013-2014 stated that the increase in the use of modern contraceptives in the Philippines was accompanied by the following developments:

the number of unintended pregancies that were averted rose from 1,540,000 in 2012 to 1,622,000 in 2013 (rounded numbers);
the number of maternal deaths that were prevented rose from 817 in 2012 to 860 in 2013; and
the number of unsafe abortions that were prevented rose from in 536,000 in 2012 to 564,000 n 2013.

Room for improvement

However, the report also stated that the Philippines is among the countries where more than 30 percent of women still have an unmet need for modern contraception. The percentage is higher in married adolescent girls aged 15–19 than in all married women aged 15-49.

The percentage of demand satisfied for modern means of contraception is in the 45-60 percent orange, the report added.

It also noted the passage of the Reproductive Health Act into law in December 2012, and its being ruled as constitutional last April. “As a result, virtually all forms of contraception will now be freely available at public health clinics. Sex education will be provided in schools, and public health workers will receive family planning training,” said the report.

The report also described the International Planned Parenthood Federation’s (IPPF) programs in the Philippines on raising awareness and debunking myths about contraception.

“In the Philippines, IPPF volunteers play an important role as community educators. They help to dispel dangerous myths: that condom use is linked to promiscuity among women and girls, that sexually transmitted infections are carried by mosquitos, that drinking bleach cures sexually transmitted diseases and that the oral contraceptive pill can lead to birth defects,” the report said.

It added, “Their efforts have led to a greater use of contraception and an increased client load for the Family Planning Organization of the Philippines (FPOP), the local IPPF Member Association. The volunteers are able to reach geographically isolated populations with information, services, counseling and contraception to make referrals to FPOP clinics.”

The Philippines is also among the 69 focus countries of the FP2020 that has committed to push for the establishment of a national policy on reproductive health and population development, said the report. In 2012, the Philippines committed $15 million to provide family planning commodities to poor women with unmet need.

Worldwide developments

The number of women and girls using modern contraceptives in FP2020’s 69 focus countries increased by 8.4 million in 2013, according to FP2020’s progress report. — Trisha Macas/BM, GMA News