PROVISION of family planning services is essential too during the Covid-19 pandemic.
This is the renewed call of the Department of Health (DOH) and the Commission on Population and Development (PopCom) to all stakeholders, especially local government units in this year’s National Family Planning Month celebration.
Nationwide, a total of 8,085,000 Filipinos used modern family planning methods in 2020, a six percent increase from 2019.
In Central Visayas, the number of couples using modern family planning methods decreased from 42,706 in 2019 to 40,637 in 2020.
According to the 2020 Annual Report of the Responsible Parenthood and Reproductive Health Act of 2012, some of the couples were not able to continue using modern family planning methods last year because of the difficulties in accessing such services when Covid-19 restrictions and lockdowns were imposed.
Despite the pandemic, PopCom 7 continued to conduct Family Planning On Wheels Outreach Caravan with the DOH 7 Center for Health and Development in the different towns and cities in Cebu Province.
PopCom 7 also continues to hold Responsible Parenthood and Family Planning (RPFP) orientations with various sectors in the community, such as farmers and fisherfolks, as well as RPFP trainings with barangay health providers, community workers and other agency partners.
These activities aim to inform the public about the different modern family planning methods and their benefits and generate demand for such services from the communities.
These also ensure male involvement with the conduct of its Training of Trainers for Kalalakin-ang Tinud-anay sa Responsibilidad ug Obligasyon sa Pamilya (Katropa) and attend to teenage mothers whose needs for fecundity awareness will be addressed, especially with the recently-passed Executive Order 141 on curbing cases of teenage pregnancy.
“The Covid-19 pandemic is an unprecedented event that has put the world to a standstill, yet the Philippines still managed to make progress in family planning,,” said Health Secretary Francisco Duque III.
He added: “We commend our service providers and partners in the field for their unwavering dedication and efforts in making sure that family planning services are available and accessible, especially during these trying times. This is a testament that the pandemic should not be a hindrance to pursuing open conversations and continuous service provision in family planning for our kababayans.”
For his part, Undersecretary Juan Antonio Perez III, executive director of PopCom, said: “Protecting ourselves from Covid-19 is as equally important as shielding our families from the burden of unintended pregnancies that may hinder our nation in achieving secure and comfortable lives we aspire for every Filipino family, thereby allowing our nation to reach its full economic productivity potential and improve educational outcomes.”
The DOH and PopCom celebrate the National Family Planning Month this August with the umbrella theme: “Usap Tayo sa Family Planning, atbp.” It is anchored on the principles of informed choice and promotion of open conversations about family planning (FP) and allied topics.
In the agencies’ Joint Memorandum Circular, the observance will have four sub-themes:
* “Usap Tayo sa FP so you can Practice Safe Sex”;
* * “Usap Tayo sa FP para sa HIV-Free ‘Pinas”;
“Usap Tayo sa FP dahil ang Pamilyang Planado, Protektado!”; and
* “I CHOOSE: #MalayaAkongMaging...”
The celebration is aimed at integrating the messaging on family planning within the context of sexual and reproductive health during health crises, sexually transmitted infections (including human immunodeficiency virus infection, which can lead to acquired immunodeficiency syndrome), informed choice and responsible parenthood and adolescent health and development.