Responsibilities:

• Office administration
  • Manage office supplies and equipment, including ordering, restocking, and maintaining inventory levels.
  • Coordinate office maintenance and repairs as needed.
  • Handle incoming and outgoing correspondence, including mail, emails, and phone calls.
  • Organize and schedule meetings, appointments, and travel arrangements for staff.
  • Assist in the preparation of reports, presentations, and other documents as required.
• Procurement
  • Source and evaluate suppliers/vendors to obtain competitive pricing and quality products/services.
  • Process purchase orders and ensure timely delivery of goods and services.
  • Negotiate contracts and agreements with suppliers/vendors.
  • Maintain accurate records of purchases, contracts, and pricing information.
• Inventory management
  • Monitor and track inventory levels to ensure adequate stock is maintained.
  • Conduct regular inventory audits to reconcile discrepancies and identify obsolete or excess items.
  • Coordinate with relevant departments to forecast inventory needs and optimize stock levels.
  • Implement inventory management systems or tools to streamline processes and improve efficiency.
• Compliance
  • Ensure compliance with organization policies, procedures, and regulatory requirements.
  • Keep abreast of changes in regulations and standards relevant to the organization’s operations.
  • Assist in conducting internal audits to assess compliance with policies and regulations.
  • Collaborate with stakeholders to develop and implement compliance training programs for staff.
• Supervision of Administrative Assistants
  • Provide guidance, training and supervision to administrative assistants
  • Assign tasks and ensure deadlines are met
  • Provide feedback on performance to administrative assistants regularly and for annual evaluations
  • Foster a positive and productive work environment for the administrative team

• Perform other necessary duties as assigned, that are well within the skills and physical capability

Requirements:

• Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration, Management, or a related field
• Strong and verifiable proficiency spanning a minimum of 3 years in office administration, procurement, inventory management, and compliance
• Strong organizational and time management skills with the ability to prioritize tasks effectively
• Excellent communication and interpersonal abilities
• Proficiency in Google workspace
• Knowledge of procurement processes and best practices
• Familiarity with inventory management systems is an advantage
• Excellent attention to detail and accuracy in record-keeping
• Ability to work independently and as part of a team
• Commitment to the mission and values of Ugat ng Kalusugan

Qualified applicants should send a cover letter, resume and contact information of 3 references to jobs@rootsofhealth.org as soon as possible. 

Type: “Administrative Officer” in the subject line.

Incomplete applications will not be considered. 

Due to the volume of applications, only shortlisted applicants will be contacted for interviews. 

About Roots of Health

Roots of Health /Ugat ng Kalusugan is a nonprofit organization focused on improving the health of women and girls, and their communities, in Puerto Princesa, Palawan, in the Philippines. The organization’s primary objective is to empower women and young people to live healthy reproductive lives in Palawan, Philippines. We improve women’s reproductive health and decrease the number of unplanned pregnancies and HIV incidence by providing sexuality health education and access to modern contraceptives through our clinical services program. Our activities are guided by the international human rights framework, which includes a core belief that health is a human right, and activities are carried out using a community-based approach. 

The post JOB OPENING: Administrative Officer appeared first on Roots Of Health.

2023 was a year of growth for Roots of Health as we moved towards expanding our roots and going further in addressing systemic challenges related to teenage pregnancies and HIV! This was not an easy feat especially in the context of new government leaders, rising inflation and media misinformation. The best way of going about it was to have our stakeholders – government workers, teachers, youth leaders and community members take part in the action.

We are proud to share our 2023 highlights made possible by your continued support!

Expanding our Roots: Systems Strengthening

Our community of passionate changemakers expanded as we trained and continuously engaged 617 local health workers and 75 public school teachers. We recognize the importance of these government frontliners in shaping the experiences of women and young people in Palawan. The trainings helped our partners overcome their limiting beliefs, understand that there are existing reproductive health laws that support their work, and learn the right tools and information to provide age-appropriate sex education and non-judgmental sexual and reproductive health services.

We’re proud of our growing volunteer community! We trained 31 new Youth Advocate leaders and 106 Sangguniang Kabataan (Youth Council) members last year and they are now making our services more accessible by providing peer-to-peer support and connecting young clients to our Youth Clinic.

In 2023, our team also trained 109 Community-Based Screening motivators for HIV, double the number from the year before. Bringing free screening services to neighborhoods is critical in combating the increasing HIV cases in the Philippines, whose epidemic rate has been tagged as the highest in the Asia Pacific region.

Beyond training for information and service delivery, we’re honored to have shared expertise and passion on data management systems with local government units (LGU) in Palawan. We’ve rolled out our Comprehensive Household Information System (CHIS) in Puerto Princesa City, which is an online data collection system that allows government field workers to update household information of people in their communities in real-time. The system harmonizes data across departments and not only will allow LGUs to effectively plan health programs and strategies, but also to respond faster when disasters hit.

Apart from CHIS, our team also regularly dialogues with key decision-makers in the City and 12 municipalities across Palawan to share health data, identify critical areas of improvement, and collaborate on finding solutions for better health outcomes.

Branching Out: Access to Services

We continued to provide critical clinical services. In 2023 we served 4,591 women with reproductive health care in the form of contraceptives bringing the number of clients currently protected from unplanned pregnancies to 17,048.

Our branches continued to reach beyond the confines of our clinics, extending into the communities including isolated indigenous peoples’ villages. We also distributed 20,000 commodities to local governments this year. Inventory support is important to prevent contraceptive stock-outs in village health centers and to ensure that people will receive care whenever they need it.

Responding to the rising cases of HIV in the region, the Roots of Health team ramped up activities for HIV awareness and early detection, screening 1,748 individuals across different communities. We followed our continuum of care by linking individuals who tested positive to needed medical services and mental health support.

We’re always looking for ways to provide the community with credible and engaging sexual and reproductive health information. In 2023, we continued to promote Comprehensive Sex Education by teaching 2,600 students through our in-school program. We taught 2,486 more young people in communities with the help of our SK partners.

Recognizing where our young audience are, we embraced the digital space and pushed further our content to provide localized sex education content for the youth. We reached 15.9 million people in 2023 and generated 4.5 million engagements as we explored more creative formats! We’re gaining traction in doing Facebook live sessions and TikTok videos. Our goal is to enhance the active involvement of our community, provide the right information, link people to reproductive health support, and foster connections.

We were delighted when the national Department of Health took note of our efforts, awarding our work with partners on the I CHOOSE campaign a gold award, and the work of our organization overall a silver award at the 2023 Healthy Pilipinas Awards.

Leaves of Innovation: New Initiatives and Fresh Ideas

To further our pursuit of advancing reproductive health, we explored new initiatives in 2023. These efforts were a direct response to the insights gained from our 2021 youth survey, guiding us in addressing barriers through targeted programs.

The Astig Pre Campaign, a groundbreaking effort aimed at men and boys, addresses a crucial insight – that men and boys can become barriers but also partners to women’s reproductive health. Through educational campaigns focused on consent and healthy relationships, we strive to cultivate a supportive environment that transcends gender norms.

Recognizing pressing mental health care needs, we widened our “Gets Kita” initiative. We provided mental health care support to 84 teens in our Youth Clinic and during efforts in the local city jail, creating a safe space for open dialogue and healing.

We recognize that building healthy relationships is essential to women’s reproductive health and wellness. Our Young Couples Communication program engaged 88 participants in activities centered around effective communication and consent, nurturing the foundations of positive and respectful partnerships. We have introduced this program in two regions beyond Palawan and are optimistic about replicating it in more.

As we embark on the journey ahead, we express our gratitude for your support.

Your continued involvement nourishes our roots and enables us to grow and reach new heights in reproductive health care in our communities.

Together, let’s cultivate a future where reproductive health is accessible to all!

About Roots of Health

Also known as Ugat ng Kalusugan, Roots of Health works to empower women, young people, and families in Palawan, Philippines to lead healthy reproductive lives by providing rights- and results-based educational and clinical services.

Since its inception in 2009 and through the onslaught of the COVID-19 pandemic, Roots of Health has positively impacted the lives of more than 171,000 women and young people by improving their reproductive health and decreasing the number of unplanned pregnancies and HIV incidence through comprehensive sexuality education and access to modern contraceptives through a clinical services program.

Roots of Health is registered in the United States as a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization.

In the Philippines, Ugat ng Kalusugan is accredited by the Department of Health, the Commission on Population, the Department of Social Welfare and Development, the Provincial Government of Palawan, and the City of Puerto Princesa.

The post Cultivating Strong Roots Together! appeared first on Roots Of Health.

Four hundred female students from grades 7 to 10 were treated to limited edition menstrual pads featuring vibrant diary entries about the female anatomy, puberty, crushes, as well as romantic relationships, consent, sex, and contraception. 

PAD-ibig Diaries is the brainchild of Black Pencil Advertising and Roots of Health, an NGO working to reduce teen pregnancies and HIV rates in Palawan. Charmee donated 15,500 menstrual pads which students can access through a special dispenser stationed at the school clinic. 

“Our joint goal was to engage Filipino high school girls through private storytelling using an unexpected medium – in this case, menstrual pads,” explained Kat Limchoc, executive creative director of Black Pencil Advertising. 

Roots of Health Youth Programs Manager, Aika Pagusara, emphasized the urgency of accessible sex education, noting prevalent myths such as the belief that jumping up and down after sex prevents pregnancy and that drinking bath soap shaped into tiny capsules can cure sexually-transmitted infections.

The PAD-ibig  launch featured interactive sessions like “Chismis o Check” that challenged common misconceptions about sexuality alongside engaging games that offered prizes to participants. 

“It’s a never-ending process as more batches of teens need accurate information every year. That’s why we love to collaborate on projects that capture the imagination of young people through relatable, non-preachy, and helpful content that urge them to either delay sex or practice safer sex,” she added. 

Roots of Health has been teaching sex ed in schools and communities for the past 15 years while providing free non-judgmental reproductive health counseling and services through two clinics and outreach missions.

“Many teenagers who go to our clinic to avail of contraceptives do so after their first child. It’s sad that they only get to know about contraception after they get pregnant. We work to prevent this by normalizing talking about sex and making young people feel safe to learn about it, so they are ready when they actually do it,” Pagusara shared.  

Despite being deemed as a conservative country, the Philippines has one of the highest teen pregnancy rates in Southeast Asia. The Philippine Statistics Authority reveals that one out of every 10 who gave birth in the country in 2022 were adolescents. Former President Rodrigo Duterte declared teen pregnancy as a national emergency through an executive order in 2021. 

The Philippines also holds notoriety as the country with the highest HIV epidemic rate in the Asia Pacific region. Daily HIV incidence increased 411 percent from 2012 to 2023. The latest available HIV data reveals that 32 percent of the cases were of young people aged 15 to 24. Of the 396 reported youth cases, 394 or 99 percent got HIV through sexual contact. 

“The situation is dire, that’s why this is just a pilot. We dream of expanding PAD-ibig Diaries across the Philippines and that other schools are also inspired by this approach,” Limchoc said. 

The PAD-ibig Diaries are also available online at www.ugatngkalusugan.org. A related Tiktok Live program called “Safe Magtanong Dito” will soon be launched through @ugatngkalusugan Tiktok channel.

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The I CHOOSE campaign, national gold winner at the 2023 Healthy Pilipinas Awards, has been recognized for creating youth-centered online spaces providing localized sex education and health resources. The Department of Health annually confers this accolade to programs fostering a healthy lifestyle among Filipinos.

The Responsible Parenthood and Reproductive Health Law (RH Law) of 2012 and a 2018 memorandum by the Department of Education (DepEd) mandate the inclusion of reproductive health concepts in public school curricula. But implementing CSE has been challenging for schools. Last year the UN Population Fund reported that only 1.1 million out of 32 million learners received CSE in the country. 

Rosanna Gamutan-Duran, Nurse II and Adolescent Reproductive Health Program Coordinator of the Department of Education Division of Agusan del Norte noted, “CSE has received little funding and training support, and most educators are still unsure how to implement it. Personal biases also often impact the comprehensiveness and quality of instruction.”

She added, “We appreciate that campaigns like I CHOOSE help us fulfill our role as educators. This orientation ensures schools in Agusan del Norte are on the same page about prioritizing CSE and learning effective strategies and techniques to engage young people meaningfully.”

Gamutan-Duran reported that only 220 teachers and 10 school heads out of 3,200 educators in the division have been trained by the DepEd. 

Jan Servando, Youth Program Director of the NGO Roots of Health, an implementer of I CHOOSE, highlighted the evolution of teacher attitudes toward CSE.

 “When we started teaching students sex ed in schools ten years ago, some teachers were uncomfortable about certain topics. However, with the RH Law and the DepEd’s memo on CSE, more teachers are now grateful for our sessions and often request technical training support,” he shared. 

“Teachers know firsthand that CSE is important so that young people do not feel lost navigating their growing up years. Teens need a reliable and credible guide to make informed decisions that may affect the rest of their lives, and teachers understand their crucial role in this. They want to be better equipped and more confident in initiating and shaping the discourse,” Servando explained. 

Servando underscored that CSE is crucial in curbing teen pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections that are on the rise among the youth in the Philippines. He added that age-appropriate conversations on boundaries, consent, healthy relationships, sexuality, and contraception are paramount. 

In April 2023, the DepEd expressed support for Senate bills on adolescent pregnancy prevention. These bills aim to make CSE standardized and compulsory in all levels of basic education and a criterion for school accreditation. DepEd lauded the bills for promoting “medically-accurate, rights-based, inclusive, and non-discriminatory” CSE that break taboos and reduce social stigma. 

A counterpart bill was approved on third and final reading at the House of Representatives in September 2023 with no negative votes and no abstentions. 

Servando likewise advocated for law-backed public funding for teachers’ training, stating, “Our initiative is like a drop of water making ripples in a vast ocean. Without a proper budget, the rollout of CSE will not be successful nationwide.” He also called for the mainstreaming of localized I CHOOSE materials, covering puberty, relationships, mental health, and sexual health, and other topics in the school system. ###

About I CHOOSE #MalayaAkongMaging

I CHOOSE #MalayaAkongMaging is national campaign for Filipino teenagers on adolescent health and development. It was created by the Department of Health (DOH) in 2019 in partnership with the Department of Education (DepEd), Commission on Population and Development (CPD) and other development partners. It is supported by the USAID ReachHealth Project. 

The non-government organization Roots of Health developed its website www.malayaako.ph and chatbot and co-manages its social media pages to help increase youth’s online access to credible and comprehensive reproductive health information in the Filipino language. Materials are designed with young people in mind and utilize visually appealing images, youth-centric language, and stories that teens would relate to. The platforms include tailored information on six key topics: sexual health, mental health, growing up, relationships and SOGIESC, and COVID-19.

More info

• The teachers’ workshop focused on helping teachers implement CSE by
  – contextualizing CSE amidst the overall issues and challenges of adolescent sexual and reproductive health
  – discussing existing laws and policies that mandate and support its rollout
  – providing strategies in discussing sensitive topics to learners, such as boundaries, consent, healthy relationships, sexuality, contraception, among others
  – highlighting available online resources that will provide educators with essential, credible, and youth-friendly materials for seamless integration into their classrooms.

• Philippine Statistics Authority reveals nearly 500 girls aged 10-19 give birth each day. 

• In 2021, President Duterte issued an Executive Order declaring teen pregnancy as a national emergency. 

• DepEd Press Release: Comprehensive Sexualty Education: Developing Responsible Youth vs. rising risks

• Adolescent Pregnancy Prevention Act 

• Senate Bills 372 and 1209 (CSE is discussed on Section 6)

• House Bill 8910 (CSE is discussed on Section 9) 
• Roots of Health website (English) (Tagalog) 

The post Teachers in Agusan del Norte empowered through award-winning sex education campaign appeared first on Roots Of Health.

Roots of Health bagged the Silver Award in Healthy Governance, Healthy Settings, and Health Literacy, for our work in reducing unplanned pregnancies and HIV cases in Palawan. With our partners USAID and the ReachHealth Project, we also won the Gold Award for the I Choose #MalayaAkongMaging campaign – which provides youth-centered online spaces for localized sex ed and health resources.

Thanks to our amazing team, community partners, and generous supporters for your continuous hard work. Let’s keep working together for a healthier Philippines and brighter futures for Filipino families.

Mabuhay!

The post Roots of Health Wins Department of Health Silver Award appeared first on Roots Of Health.

Aimary, a master’s student in clinical psychology, said that the purpose of these sessions was to help our Youth Team explore various facets of what true mental well-being means and equip them with essential understanding so they can care for themselves and support young people.

The initial two sessions focused primarily on the fundamentals of mental health. The third session delved into the vital realm of mental health advocacy. It emphasized how the Youth Team can best apply our rights-based approach specifically when dealing with young people and how Roots of Health as an organization can further reduce stigma and discrimination associated with mental health concerns.

The fourth session was about strengthening the self. Our Youth Team learned a range of activities to enhance resilience-building skills that they can share with our partner youth leaders and students.

The fifth session honed the team’s interpersonal skills, enabling them to recognize warning signs of mental distress, apply principles of psychological first aid, and build psychological safety within groups.

Thank you Aimary for enhancing our skills in effectively supporting young people as they navigate life’s challenges.

The post New Level Unlocked: Mental Health Support for Young People appeared first on Roots Of Health.

Responsibilities

The Partnerships Director responsibilities include but are not limited to:

• Manage the organization’s Systems Strengthening work
• Lead in influencing public policy in health systems strengthening at the national and regional level
• Strengthen existing partnerships with multi stakeholder groups and regional and national  partners
• Develop and manage relationships with key partners at the national and regional levels
• Create and execute partnership plans
• Supervise the Partnerships Coordinator whose work focuses on local Palawan partners
• With the Executive Director, cultivate new partnership or project opportunities
• Lead ideation/incubation for projects related to systems strengthening
• Attend events to represent ROH
• Participate in events or media interviews as appropriate
• Support the Executive Director in cultivating donor relationships and fundraising

Job Qualifications

Required:

• Degree in relevant field (e.g. Communications, International Relations, Journalism, Political Science, Public Administration, Public Policy and or Social Sciences)
• 3-4 years of experience in handling partnerships with different stakeholders and policy advocacy
• At least 2-3 years of management experience
• Knowledge of public health, issues related to it, and relevant policy initiatives and research
• Familiarity with reproductive health-related policies i.e. RH Law, SOGIE Bill, etc.
• Demonstrated leadership and diplomatic skills
• Highly organized and detail oriented
• Willingness to collaborate, innovate and ability to think systematically
• Demonstrated ability to manage relationships with a wide range of stakeholders
• Proven experience in managing multiple and competing tasks while maintaining quality of deliverables within deadlines
• Strong communication skills and ability to write clear and concise reports in English
• Amenable to work-related travels as needed
• Enthusiastic, patient, and flexible

Desired:

• Advanced degree in relevant field or work experience in a relevant competency area, including Masters in Public Health or Masters in Public Administration
• Experience with fundraising
• Can speak/understand local dialect/s

Qualified applicants should send a cover letter, resume and contact information of 3 references to jobs@rootsofhealth.org as soon as possible. 

Type: “Partnerships Director Position” in the subject line.

Incomplete applications will not be considered. 

Due to the volume of applications, only shortlisted applicants will be contacted for interviews. 

About Roots of Health / Ugat ng Kalusugan

Roots of Health /Ugat ng Kalusugan is a nonprofit organization focused on improving the health of women and girls, and their communities, in Puerto Princesa, Palawan, in the Philippines. We envision self-reliant women, young people and communities living healthy reproductive lives in Palawan. Roots of Health empowers women and girls to secure their right to health and freedom from violence, and to support and protect the health and well-being of their children. Our activities are guided by the international human rights framework, which includes a core belief that health is a human right, and activities are carried out using a community-based approach.

The post JOB OPENING: Partnerships Director appeared first on Roots Of Health.

We recently helped train 39 health workers on the Field Health Services Information System (FHSIS) which records the scope and coverage of essential public health services. The FHSIS is a crucial part of the Philippines’s information network to better manage health service delivery. It is the basis of decision-making at all levels of government from the national to the village level.

The training aimed to help users add data accurately, navigate the system better, and analyze information strategically to craft health programs that are more responsive to people’s needs.

Participants had hands-on exercises on system installation; data entry for family planning, maternal care, and child care programs, among other health programs; report generation; data merging and transmittal; and system troubleshooting.

Roots of Health had the opportunity to conduct a needs assessment workshop with the participants and we shared how data visualization tools such as charts, graphs, and maps can ease understanding of the issues and help planners have a more targeted approach in addressing these issues

We’re so excited to continue motivating local governments in Palawan to mainstream data science in their public service!

The post Coming Soon… Data Driven Municipalities appeared first on Roots Of Health.

Roots of Health Executive Director Amina Evangelista-Swanepoel, speaking at the hearing said that provider bias is the biggest issue affecting teen’s access to contraceptive commodities and reproductive health services that include prenatal care.

“Roughly half of the health care workers we work with in Palawan do not approve of young people having sex, so when youth try to access services, they are scolded, shamed, and denied services,” Evangelista-Swanepoel shared.

“Therefore we urge the protection of adolescents’ rights to access service with specific legislation that will supersede previous age restrictions to accessing these,” she added.

According to Evangelista-Swanepoel, at the minimum, the parental consent clause in the RH Law should be lowered to youth under 15 years old as was done in the expanded HIV Law.

All three teenage pregnancy prevention bills filed by Sen. Risa Hontiveros (SBN 372), Sen. Imee Marcos (SBN 651), and Sen. Bong Revilla (SBN 1209) call for adolescents who need access to services to get these. However, the reality is that age restrictions in the Reproductive Health (RH) Law allow health providers to refuse young people the services they seek.

Evangelista-Swanepoel also urged training and guidance for healthcare workers in providing compassionate nonjudgmental care to ensure that young people get the services they need.

Sen. Hontiveros, chairperson of the Committee on Women, Children, Family Relations & Gender Equality, in her opening statement cited that 386,000 Filipino girls (or 6.8% of girls aged 15-19) have begun childbearing in 2021 alone. Although teen pregnancies in this age range have declined from 13.7% a decade ago, pregnancies among girls aged 10-14 are increasing with 2,113 births recorded in 2020 (PSA data) to 2,299 in 2021 (DOH data).

Working w/ the Sangguniang Kabataan

The three Senate bills being deliberated mandate the Sanggunian Kabataan (SK) to develop interventions in arresting causes of adolescent pregnancies at the community level.

Evangelista-Swanepoel attests to the SK members’ enthusiasm in helping their peers. Roots of Health has trained 1,500 SKs in designing interventions that promote healthy relationships and good sexual and reproductive health (SRH), and that prevent teenage pregnancies and HIV and STI transmission. SKs have also been instrumental in training barangay health center staff on youth-friendly services.

“This is something we can scale up. But SKs should be provided training of trainers support so they can help roll out comprehensive sex ed, service delivery referrals, and peer counseling,” Evangelista-Swanepoel emphasized.

“With our team’s guidance and support, the SKs carried out effective programs that increase knowledge among young people and ensure they know how to access services if and when they need them,” she shared.

Currently, most health centers do not work with SKs on demand generation and provision of services, a missed opportunity, according to Evangelista-Swanepoel.

Comprehensive sex ed in schools

One of the factors driving teenage pregnancies is still the lack of credible information on sexuality and reproductive health.

According to Evangelista-Swanepoel, the NGO’s pre-test and post-test data from 65,000 young people they have taught since 2012 reveal low levels of knowledge about SRH. For example, 70% of high school students believe that jumping up and down is an effective way to avoid pregnancy. Some 79% still believe that withdrawal is an effective method of pregnancy prevention.

In a youth survey the NGO conducted in 2017, 2019, and 2021 among 1,500 Puerto Princesa youth aged 15-24, some 58% of young people said their first sexual experience was unplanned while 12% said their first sexual encounter was coerced. Sixty-four percent (64%) said that they did not use a condom in their last sexual encounter.

This situation underpins the demand for comprehensive sexuality education (CSE) in schools,  and the proposed legislative measures aim to expedite CSE rollout nationwide.

“Teachers have told us repeatedly how grateful they are for our support because they are not equipped to teach CSE themselves. An important step in the rollout of CSE in schools is the training of CSE coordinators who can train and support other teachers. The Department of Education (DepEd) must allocate funds to ensure this capacity-building training,” Evangelista-Swanepoel shared.

Evangelista-Swanepoel also recommended DepEd to partner with the Commission on Population and Development (POPCOM) and the Department of Health (DOH) to disseminate materials from the I CHOOSE campaign which produces SRH materials for young audiences in the Filipino language through its website www.malayaako.ph and its social media pages.

National information system

On the proposed national information system to track adolescent pregnancies, Roots of Health also recommended the creation of a dashboard to analyze and display data collected from the Young Adult Fertility and Sexuality Study (YAFS), the National Demographic and Health Survey (NDHS), and by LGUs – which are more timely and granular.

They called on DOH and POPCOM to include a data indicator on teen contraceptive use throughout the country to keep track of how many Filipino youth are using contraception and monitor any increases or decreases to this.

“We appeal to our lawmakers from both houses of Congress to take a sustained active role in championing the rights of Filipino adolescents, on whom the development and well-being of this nation rest,” Evangelista-Swanepoel urged.

The teenage pregnancy prevention bills in the Senate seek to provide comprehensive, age-appropriate sex education programs for young Filipinos nationwide and social protection programs for teenage mothers which include maternal health services, workshops, and livelihood programs. Seven similar bills are also being deliberated at the lower house.

###

The post Minors Should Be Able to Access Contraception appeared first on Roots Of Health.

As young people go back to school and enter the workforce, being back in face-to-face settings increases their likelihood of engaging in risky behavior if they don’t understand their bodies and their sexual and reproductive health and rights well. This puts young people at high risk of having teen pregnancies and sexually transmitted infections such as HIV.

Last year, donors like you helped us serve thousands of women and young people in the Philippines. We again ask for your support as we work to reduce the cycle of helplessness in this new era. This holiday season, please help us empower and protect women and young people in the Philippines as we all work towards a #Stronger2023.

Your one-time donation can already help change thousands of lives. Imagine the impact if you can support us on a monthly basis by ticking the monthly donation option!

We can all be stronger amid difficult times when we look out for each other. Thank you so much for your continued support.

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