CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY: A non-government organization here has expressed renewed interest in working to educate the youth about the Reproductive Health (RH) Law, as the city government vowed to address teenage pregnancies through the Adolescent and Youth Sexual Reproductive Health (AYSRH) program.
In a statement Friday, Roots of Health executive director Amina Evangelista-Swanepoel noted that 10 years since the passage of Republic Act (RA) 10354, or the Responsible Parenthood and Reproductive Health Act of 2012, teenage pregnancy remains a national concern of their organization.
“Pre-test and post-test activities during our sexuality education sessions for high school students in Palawan reveal continued low levels of knowledge among young people about sexual and reproductive health,” Evangelista-Swanepoel said.
Based on the sex education sessions conducted by the group, she said at least 70 percent of the students believed that “jumping up and down” after sex is an effective way to avoid pregnancy; around 80 percent believed that withdrawal is an effective method of pregnancy prevention.
“We also found out that many young people’s first sexual encounter was not planned and that many girls entered sexual relationships earlier than they wanted because of pressure or force from their partners,” she said.
Swanepoel said the idea that sexual relationships should be built on the consent and willingness of both parties is new to many young people, adding that the old idea of male conquest often goes along with a refusal to use condoms or other forms of contraception.
The Roots of Health also called for more public investments in RH programs at the national and local levels and better integration of age-appropriate comprehensive sexuality education in public and private schools.
Meanwhile, Mayor Rolando Uy said the local government recognizes the importance of implementing social development programs related to AYSRH.
“Working together with the whole bureaucracy will enable us to address soonest the problem of increasing teen pregnancy,” he said.
Data from the City Health Office (CHO) showed that the city recorded 30 childbirths from mothers aged 10 to 14 years old last year.
There were also 1,070 childbirths labored by mothers aged 15 to 19-years-old.
The same CHO data, however, tallied a 40 percent decrease in teenage pregnancies in 2021 with 1,782 childbirths, as compared to 2019 which had 2,94
Source: Philippines News Agency
