LGUs making headway in curbing teenage pregnancy —group

At least 24 cities in the Philippines are now implementing programs and policies addressing adolescent pregnancies under the “business unusual” platform of The Challenge Initiative (TCI) Philippines. 

The TCI, a five-year urban reproductive health program funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and co-managed by the Zuellig Foundation in the Philippines, aims to address the urban poor and their reproductive health needs. 

It also helps local governments to plan and implement high-impact practices related to family planning and adolescent sexual and reproductive health.

The city government of San Jose in Nueva Ecija, one of the partners of the program, said it saw a controlled adolescent birth rate of 33 per 1,000 girls and a modern contraceptive prevalence rate of 33% -- surpassing Department of Health national benchmarks.

“Without TCI, we could have been beset by a larger problem attributed to uncontrolled teenage pregnancy. We thank you for helping us manage our family planning and teenage pregnancy problem here in San Jose City,” Mayor Mario Salvador told TCI Executive Director Dr. Kojo Lokko during his visit to Nueva Ecija. 

Lokko was in the Philippines from November 6 to November 9, 2023. Other cities he visited were Naga, Pasig, and Manila. 

Meanwhile, the organization said Cagayan de Oro and Dipolog -- two of the pilot cities for the TCI -- are set to graduate from the program after posting significant successes in the reduction of teen pregnancies and prevalence of modern contraceptive use. 

In 2022, the Commission on Population and Development (CPD) expressed concern over the rise of teenage pregnancies in the country, saying it may be considered a national social emergency.

CPD said pregnancy among those aged 15 to 19 slowed down in 2020. However, pregnancy among 10 to 14-year-olds increased in 2021.

Data from the Philippine Statistics Authority data showed that 31 out of every 1,000 who gave birth in 2020 were aged 15 to 19. —LDF, GMA Integrated News