Universal Access to Reproductive Health Highlighted During World Population Day Celebration
Guinobatan- Albay, July 10, 2012 – World Population Day is being celebrated today to raise awareness on the importance of addressing population issues and their relationship to health and development. This year’s theme is “Universal Access to Reproductive Health Services”.
Dr. Eden Divinagracia, Executive Director of the Philippine NGO Council on Population, Health and Welfare Inc. (PNGOC) joins the celebration together with various stakeholders to showcase the need for universal access to reproductive health information and services.
Based on recent statistics, unmet need for Family Planning also increased from 15.7% in 2006 to 19.3% in 2011. The unmet need is highest among poor women (25.8%), adolescent girls (37%), women with no education (29.2%) and women in ARMM (35.8%). Needless to say, such unmet need is a contributing factor in the increased Maternal Mortality Ratio (MMR) as shown in the latest Family Health Survey — from 162 maternal deaths per 100,000 live births in 2006 to 221 maternal deaths per 100,000 live births in 2011. Such reality takes us farther away from achieving the Millennium Development Goal-5 target of MMR reduction to 52 maternal deaths per 100,000 live births by 2015.
To highlight the need for universal access, PNGOC together with Marcial O Ranola Memorial School (MORMS), Mayon Integrated Development Alternatives and Services (MIDAS), Commission on Population (POPCOM), Kapisanan ng Broadkaster ng Pilipinas (KBP), National Union of Journalists of the Philippines (NUJP) and the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) organized an educational forum to highlight the need for reproductive health information and services.
The forum is an opportunity to impart knowledge about reproductive health including family planning, maternal health, adolescent reproductive health and sexually-transmitted infections, including HIV/AIDS.
Dr. Divinagracia said “Adolescents should be provided with adequate access to sexual and reproductive health information and services so that they can manage their own sexual and reproductive health and to make reproductive choices, including the practice of sexuality free from coercion, violence, and threats.”
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Noemi Lardizabal-Dado
Noemi Lardizabal-Dado is a Content Strategist with over 16 years experience in blogging, content management, citizen advocacy and media literacy and over 26 years in web development. Otherwise known as @MomBlogger on social media, she believes in making a difference in the lives of her children by advocating social change for social good. She is a co-founder and a member of the editorial board of Blog Watch . She is a resource speaker on media literacy, social media , blogging, digital citizenship, good governance, transparency, parenting, women’s rights and wellness, and cyber safety. Her personal blogs such as aboutmyrecovery.com (parenting) , pinoyfoodblog.com (recipes), techiegadgets.com (gadgets) and benguetarabica.coffee keep her busy outside of Blog Watch. Disclosure: I am an advocate. I am NOT neutral. I will NOT give social media mileage to members of political clans, epal, a previous candidate for the same position and those I believe are a waste of taxpayers' money. I do not support or belong to any political party. I was part of accredited media covering the Office of the Vice President and Leni Robredo as she ran as a presidential aspirant in the 2022 National and local elections. On August 5, 2021, YouTube announced that I was selected as one of 50 Program participants of its Creator Program for Independent Journalists She was a Senior Consultant for ALL media engagements for the PCOO-led Committee on Media Affairs & Strategic Communications (CMASC) under the ASEAN 2017 National Organizing Council from January 4 -July 5, 2017. Having been an ASEAN advocate since 2011, she has written extensively about the benefits of the ASEAN community and as a region of opportunities on Blog Watch and aboutmyrecovery.com. Organization affiliation includes Consortium on Democracy and Disinformation Updated June 6, 2022