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) 

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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!

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Though the villages are separated by sea, people are never strangers. All happily greet each other as they gather at the local health center to avail of their contraceptive of choice during an outreach mission led by Roots of Health with support from the Australian Embassy in the Philippines. 

Our nurses discuss the contraceptives available to the women gathered at the local clinic.

Armed with a handy poster illustrating the female reproductive system, our nurses start orienting the women on contraception and the different kinds they can get during the mission. With many women unfamiliar with contraceptives – particularly long-acting reversible contraceptives (LARCs) – fears about the procedure and possible side effects are foremost in their minds. Our nurses thoroughly explain the procedure, debunk misconceptions, and answer their questions to ease their worries. 

Busting contraceptive myths through high-quality non-judgmental service 

Rita*, 39, shares her misunderstanding of the implant, “I used to think getting the implant meant undergoing an operation where I had to be unconscious […] I was scared I might not wake up from it and I got anxious believing that. That’s why I didn’t have it before.”

After giving birth to nine children, two of whom died from complications, Rita does not want to have another baby, especially at an older age. 

In Rita’s case, getting enough prenatal vitamins during her last pregnancy might have helped prevent her child’s birth defect which led to the baby’s death. Unfortunately, living two hours away by boat from the nearest clinic and the lack of prenatal vitamins at the health center kept her from having a healthy pregnancy and led to childbirth trauma. 

With strengthened resolve and her worries about the procedure allayed, Rita decides to proceed with the implant insertion that will protect her from unwanted pregnancies for three years. 

“I didn’t realize it would be that easy to go through. The reality was very different from what I imagined,” she shares. 

While contraceptive access in far-flung communities has improved through the years, there is still a lot of ground to cover in disproving myths that hinder women from availing LARCs. Despite efforts of providers to increase reproductive health knowledge, many are still more inclined to believe myths that they hear from their elders or neighbors. 

“This is one of the major roadblocks we face as providers when encouraging others to switch to LARCs,” shares Nurse Piety, one of our mission team leads. 

Although it helps to get the facts out there to challenge existing misconceptions, sometimes it is not enough. 

“As healthcare providers, it is important to be seen as trustworthy by the people we serve. This is why we continue to embody our values in being non-judgmental, rights-based, and science-based in our approach,” Piety explains. 

“Giving women a positive experience when they avail of LARCs can help encourage more to do the same, especially in a tight-knit community that puts a premium on the advice of their peers,” she added. 

Rita hopes to inspire more women in her community to get implants too, “As someone who has already gotten it, I will tell them it’s not painful like I used to believe.” 

Easing women’s economic burden 

Nimfa*, 40, decided to use contraception to prevent another pregnancy after she lost her seventh baby because of a miscarriage. She also had difficulty sending all her children to school with her family’s meager income, more so with the COVID-19 pandemic affecting their livelihoods. 

Raquel*, 23, echoed the same sentiment, especially when having children one after another at a young age. Limited access to contraceptives affect the well-being of the whole family when there are not enough resources to support a growing household. It especially puts a lot of pressure on her, Raquel says, and there are days when she just doesn’t know how to cope. 

Nurse Piety conversing with a client during the pre-implant insertion assessment.

Although contraceptives are available in their local clinic, sometimes pills run out. Restocking is often delayed as the mainland is far away. Compared to pills and injectables, LARCs offer women longer protection without having to worry about running out of supplies. Reaching more women with LARCs especially in remote areas is vital. 

Roots of Health Nurse Daisy shares her realizations during the Agutaya mission:

“Not needing to buy a pack of pills when the health center runs out, women can spend their money on food instead. Mothers face a lot of hardships in child rearing. By helping them access contraceptives, an unplanned pregnancy is one less thing for them to worry about in life.”

Rita, Nimfa, and Raquel are only some of the women Roots of Health had the pleasure of getting to know during the four-day mission, but many more share similar experiences in family planning and accessing reproductive health services in and out of Palawan. 

The 16-hour trip by sea with multiple boat rides in between left the Roots of Health team feeling exhausted but accomplished.

Daisy shares, “Despite the tiring travel, there’s a sense of fulfillment in being able to help ease the burden of women when it comes to family planning.” 

—

* Not their real names.

Thumbnail photo shows the Roots of Health team, together with local health workers, traveling to a village in Agutaya, Palawan to provide more women with contraceptives of their choice.   

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About Roots of Health

Ugat ng Kalusugan (Roots of Health), founded in 2009, 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. The organization improves women’s and young people’s reproductive health and decreases the number of unplanned pregnancies and HIV incidence by providing sexuality health education and access to modern contraceptives through a clinical services program. 

Roots of Health (ROH) is registered in the United States as a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization. Ugat ng Kalusugan (UNK) is registered in the Philippines as a non-stock, non-profit organization. ROH exists to fundraise for UNK. All program activities take place in the Philippines under UNK. For all intents and purposes, the two are one organization. 

In the Philippines, Ugat ng Kalusugan is accredited by the Department of Health (DOH), the Commission on Population (POPCOM), the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), the Provincial Government of Palawan, and the City of Puerto Princesa. We hold Memorandum of Agreements with the Department of Education, Palawan State University and Western Philippines University.

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by Romar Miranda

March 25, 2022, Puerto Princesa City, Palawan—Roots of Health (ROH), a non-profit organization based in Puerto Princesa City, Palawan, in partnership with the Embassy of Canada in the Philippines through the Canada Fund for Local Initiatives, recently launched its new Tagalog-language website. This is one of the nonprofit’s efforts to expand its reach, providing more women, young people and other stakeholders with accessible reproductive health information, available online anywhere in the Philippines.

While a lot of information about sexual and reproductive health is available online, most resources are in English. Through a new Tagalog-language website, ugatngkalusugan.org, women, young people, parents, teachers, health workers, and local legislators can access an alternative form of education and source of information in a language that is more accessible to Filipinos. 

This repository of articles, guides, quizzes, and videos is an integral aspect of ROH’s continued efforts in providing essential reproductive health materials and services across Palawan and the rest of the Philippines. 

Stakeholders can also get answers to the most frequently asked questions about contraception, pregnancy, menstruation, and breastfeeding, and other reproductive health concerns, through a chatbot to be hosted on the website and eventually on the Ugat ng Kalusugan RH Clinic Facebook page. Women and young people seeking reproductive health services may also book an appointment through the chatbot.

Colin Townson, Head of Political Affairs of the Embassy of Canada in the Philippines, during the website launch on December 10, 2021, said that making information more broadly available can help address social stigmas, increase awareness, appreciation of differences, and confront myths and biases, which can contribute to a more inclusive, more tolerant and safe society for all Filipinos.

“We applaud the launch of Roots of Health’s Tagalog language website and chatbot which will provide improved access to essential information about reproductive health, sexuality and gender, and sexually transmitted infections. This platform comes from a critical time, as we all continue to struggle with the impacts of the global COVID-19 pandemic. Use of digital platforms, such as this one, can help ensure that Filipinos are able to access information, seek guidance, and make informed decisions to safeguard their health,” said Townson.

Amina Evangelista Swanepoel, Roots of Health Executive Director, noted that there is an urgent need for useful and helpful tools to bridge the gap that has resulted in a rising number of teenage pregnancies and HIV cases, by providing access to comprehensive sexuality education and access to high-quality, nonjudgmental, free clinical services to the youth, parents, teachers, healthcare workers, and other reproductive health allies.

The website and social media campaign, which includes six primary themes including safe sex; avoiding early unplanned pregnancy; benefits of contraception (with a focus on young people accessing services); consent; reproductive health myths and facts; and HIV prevention were converted from the organization’s existing lesson plans to electronic standalone materials by using local and simplified language, making it familiar and accessible to local audience.

A list of clinical services that can be accessed in Puerto Princesa is also available on the website, as well as education services, which include training for various stakeholder groups such as youth, community-based screeners for HIV (CBS), and teachers.

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About Roots of Health

Ugat ng Kalusugan (Roots of Health), founded in 2009, 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. The organization improves women’s and young people’s reproductive health and decreases the number of unplanned pregnancies and HIV incidence by providing sexuality health education and access to modern contraceptives through a clinical services program. 

Ugat ng Kalusugan is accredited by the Department of Health (DOH), the Commission on Population (POPCOM), the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), the Provincial Government of Palawan, and the City of Puerto Princesa. The organization has Memorandum of Agreements with the Department of Education, Palawan State University and Western Philippines University.

About the Canada Fund for Local Initiatives (CFLI)

The CFLI is a program designed to support small-scale, high-impact projects in developing countries, which align with Global Affairs Canada’s thematic priority areas for engagement. The program is directed at projects conceived and designed predominantly by local partners. Projects are selected and approved by the relevant Canadian embassy or high commission. The CFLI also serves to support positive bilateral relations between Canada and recipient countries and their civil societies, by deepening contacts and supporting local endeavours.

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One fundamental truth about humanity is the idea that help will come no matter the disaster.

A day after Typhoon Odette (international: Rai) ravaged central and northern Palawan, local communities were in shock because of the unprecedented damages to life and property caused by the typhoon, with a total estimate of more than P7.8 billion.

With the local governments already stretched thin from managing the COVID-19 pandemic, A Single Drop for Safe Water (ASDSW), and Roots of Health (ROH), non-profit organizations based in Puerto Princesa City, Palawan, shifted their focus to augment the government’s relief and rehabilitation efforts.

“The local governments were already tapped out by COVID-19. They have been impacted by the typhoon themselves, but they are mandated to be there for response.”

—Kevin Lee, Executive Director,
A Single Drop for Safe Water

“The local governments were already tapped out by COVID-19. They have been impacted by the typhoon themselves, but they are mandated to be there for response. We augment government efforts by providing capacities in areas they lack. Helping is not rocket science. It’s the right thing to do and we have the capacity,” said Kevin Lee, executive director of ASDSW.

Survivors, not victims

A day after the aftermath of the typhoon, Lee mobilized his team to start the initial assessment of the impacts of Odette, coordinating with the City Disaster Risk Reduction Office (CDRRMO) and Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction Office (PDRRMO).

“We don’t call them victims; we call them survivors. They are not mere beneficiaries, but partner communities.”

—Kevin Lee, Executive Director,
A Single Drop for Safe Water

“One of the overlooked aspects of humanitarian response is how communities react. We don’t call them victims; we call them survivors. They are not mere beneficiaries, but partner communities. They are active participants in their own relief and rehabilitation,” Lee explained.

Since the civic groups started their humanitarian response primarily targeting communities in Puerto Princesa City and Roxas, around 3,850 households have been provided with clean and safe drinking water by installing water systems and providing generator sets to the local water utilities. Nearly 3,000 households have been supplied with water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) kits; and 551 households received materials to rebuild their shelters.

Local communities are already doing their part in their own rehabilitation, yet there is still a pressing need to help them in recovery through technical assistance and resources. 

“When we went to Babuyan (northern village of Puerto Princesa City), the community had started on their own to get their water system back up before we arrived. Relationship building with local officials and communities is important. We ask them what they need and we tell them what we can and cannot do. It’s about showing up and doing something,” Lee added.

Acknowledging that Palawan is not prioritized by the international community because of lack of information and massive devastation in Visayas and Mindanao, the civic groups are aiming to gather at least P80 million to fund the extensive rehabilitation plan. This will also fund the conduct of market mapping assessments to help in the economic recovery and food security of marginalized communities, providing reproductive health services; and boosting access to clean and safe drinking water.

Build thriving communities

Typhoon Odette magnified the susceptibility of vulnerable groups including women, girls and persons living with disabilities, who are still recovering from the intense months of COVID-19, requiring complex, articulated and comprehensive response.

“Women and girls, indigenous peoples, members of the LGBTQIA+ community, the elderly, and persons with disabilities are among the many vulnerable groups more severely impacted by natural disasters including the COVID-19 pandemic. Ongoing relief efforts are focused on mitigating these intersectional vulnerabilities.”

—Amina Evangelista-Swanepoel, Executive Director,
Roots of Health

Amina Evangelista Swanepoel, founding executive director of Roots of Health, emphasized the importance of life-saving and time-critical recovery needs of the most at-risk people living in areas hardest-hit by the typhoon, with heightened risk of violence, exploitation, and abuse.

ROH is constantly monitoring the situation of these vulnerable groups, while incorporating best practices to ensure that disaster response adequately addresses their unique needs, without subjecting them to even more marginalization. It will also be undertaking a gender snapshot profile on Palawan and the effects of Typhoon Odette.

“Women and girls, indigenous peoples, members of the LGBTQIA+ community, the elderly, and persons with disabilities are among the many vulnerable groups more severely impacted by natural disasters including the COVID-19 pandemic. Ongoing relief efforts are focused on mitigating these intersectional vulnerabilities. Pregnant women, for example, need regular checkups and prenatal vitamins, which were already difficult to access even before the typhoon. Senior citizens, whose lives have been so impacted by the pandemic, are even more at risk now with limited access to basic needs and health care. Women and girls, meanwhile, are more vulnerable to unplanned pregnancies and gender-based violence,” Swanepoel said.

Shelter is one of the most critical and essential needs of displaced populations, requiring timely shelter intervention in the form of shelter-grade materials. 

Meanwhile, primary concerns with children include water, sanitation and hygiene (susceptibility to diarrhea, access to water and sanitation); health and nutrition (infection prevention and control and prevention of malnutrition among pregnant women and children); and child protection (psycho-social support, prevention of violence, exploitation, abuse and neglect).

“The typhoon decimated the fishing fleet in coastal and indigenous communities. Fishing and tourism were two of the main income earners.”

—Kevin Lee, Executive Director,
A Single Drop for Safe Water

ASDSW and ROH have been partnering with the government in their efforts to meet the needs of those most affected and displaced, responding to crises since 2010, including Typhoon Sendong (international name: Washi, 2011); Typhoon Pablo (international name: Bopha, 2012); Typhoon Yolanda (international name: Haiyan, 2013); Typhoon Vinta (international name: Temin, 2017); and the Marawi Crisis in 2017.

“Recovery is one of the biggest issues which will take a long time. The typhoon decimated the fishing fleet in coastal and indigenous communities. Fishing and tourism were two of the main income earners. High value crops, such as banana, coconuts, and cashew require several years to replace,” Lee said.

According to local officials, the “hardest hit” municipality of Roxas alone recorded damages worth P5.7 billion; Dumaran with P1.1 billion; San Vicente with P49 million; Araceli with P471 million; Kalayaan with P39 million; Taytay with P133.4 million; Quezon with P2.5 million; Cagayancillo with P52 million; Aborlan with P4.3 million; Brooke’s Point with P1 million; Linapacan P137, 000; and Puerto Princesa City with P281.3 million.

After relief and response, rehabilitation has to follow. Building thriving communities in terms of socio-economic resiliency is vital in community-level rehabilitation.

“For now, what’s important is getting Palaweños back to their feet―doing that with dignity where they participate and they understand that this is a compounding emergency,” Lee added.

Any crisis and especially this one calls for a whole-of-society approach, engaging and capacitating all actors, traditional or non-traditional, and integrating them into a coordinated effort that is comprehensive and inclusive.

ASDSW and ROH are accepting donations here.

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About Roots of Health

Ugat ng Kalusugan (Roots of Health), founded in 2009, 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. The organization improves women’s and young people’s reproductive health and decreases the number of unplanned pregnancies and HIV incidence by providing sexuality health education and access to modern contraceptives through a clinical services program. 

Roots of Health (ROH) is registered in the United States as a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization. Ugat ng Kalusugan (UNK) is registered in the Philippines as a non-stock, non-profit organization. ROH exists to fundraise for UNK. All program activities take place in the Philippines under UNK. For all intents and purposes, the two are one organization. 

In the Philippines, Ugat ng Kalusugan is accredited by the Department of Health (DOH), the Commission on Population (POPCOM), the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), the Provincial Government of Palawan, and the City of Puerto Princesa. We hold Memorandum of Agreements with the Department of Education, Palawan State University and Western Philippines University.

About A Single Drop for Safe Water – Single Drop Consultancy Services (ASDSW-SDCS)

ASDSW-SDCS is a hybrid development and humanitarian organization that works with communities and local governments to: Strengthen Water and Sanitation governance structures and systems, Create community and institutional demand for Water and Sanitation Services as well as building or strengthening service providers organizational, Infrastructure and Technical Capacities.  It also manages and implements large scale humanitarian responses as well as building the resilience of local communities and LGUs.

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Diane was one of the 119 girls Roots of Health selected to participate in a research project to assess contextual factors associated with teen pregnancy in Palawan, Philippines. She was later on selected again to be part of a smaller group of 23 girls. Like the other girls in the group, she participated in an in-depth interview where the research team asked her to share her relationships and experiences with her family, friends, and others that may have influenced her pregnancy.

Diane’s story (and the many other stories) underscores the urgent need for accurate and consistent access to sex education, increased access to reproductive health services, and more social support from families. The research also found that the lack of consent is a big issue amongst girls having sex for the first time. 

These very same stories are front and center in the three reports developed by Roots of Health, with funding from EMPower and analytical support from Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health, that address the issue of teen pregnancy in the Philippines.

Unprepared: A Summary of Survey Findings on Teenage Pregnancy in Palawan, Philippines

In 2020, with support from EMpower’s Girls Fund program, ROH carried out a two-part quantitative and qualitative research project in order to better understand the risk factors that affect adolescent pregnancy. ROH issued an anonymous, self-administered survey to 119 adolescent women and girls who have had teen pregnancies in order to understand their unique situations before becoming pregnant and identify any common factors that generate a disproportionate risk of teen pregnancy for some. 

The survey assessed risk factors experienced prior to pregnancy including participants’ family and household functioning, self-esteem, experiences with romantic and sexual relationships, and any risky behaviors that participants engaged in. Questions also covered girls’ experiences during their pregnancy including social and financial support, and their experiences accessing reproductive health services throughout their adolescence. 

The results from this research are in this Quantitative Report.

I wish I didn’t get pregnant early: A Summary of Survey Findings From In-Depth Interviews on Teenage Pregnancy in Palawan, Philippines

“I had thought about using contraceptives, but my boyfriend kept telling me that he guarantees that I won’t get pregnant, and I believed it,” Diane shared.

After giving birth, her boyfriend was initially supportive of the child but eventually stopped providing support. “He now lives with a different family of his own, and I did not take his surname for my child.”

A deeper dive into the young women and girls’ lived experiences is detailed in the qualitative data analysis report, which provides a better understanding of adolescent women and girls’ unique situations before becoming pregnant, including factors such as their family and household functioning, self-esteem, experiences with romantic and sexual relationships, and their ability to access health services. 

Based on in-depth interviews with 23 women and girls who had teen pregnancies, including a thematic analysis from the Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health, this report details girls’ experiences with their families, friends, partners, and health systems before, during, and after their pregnancies. 

Read the results from the interviews and the analysis in this Qualitative Report.

What We Could Have Done Differently: In-depth Interviews with Teen Moms and Key Recommendations to Reduce Teen Pregnancy

Diane’s experience, among many, highlights the youth’s lack of information on sexual and reproductive health, exacerbated by unequal power dynamics in relationships and lack of access to youth-friendly contraceptive services.

Based on the data generated from the two studies, ROH identified key recommendations for the major stakeholders in the fight to reduce teen pregnancy. These recommendations are divided up by relevance to each of the stakeholder groups. 

“We crafted a comprehensive Advocacy Toolkit in order to effectively use what we learned from our research to better support adolescent women and girls,” said Amina Evangelista Swanepoel, ROH Founding Executive Director. 

“This third report highlights several different issue areas that affect women and girls. It identifies possible steps that stakeholders such as parents, the Department of Education, and the Department of Health, can take to help strengthen teen pregnancy prevention programs.”

Access recommendations and additional resources in the Advocacy Toolkits.

With a deeper understanding of teen pregnancy and what policy stakeholders and gatekeepers can do to address it, Roots of Health hopes that young girls like Diane will no longer have to deal with the physical and mental health risks, social stigma, and socioeconomic disenfranchisement that an early unplanned pregnancy may entail.

MESSAGES FROM PARTNERS

Kundhavi Balachandran, EMpower Program Officer East and Southeast Asia
“Carrying out an analysis of this magnitude at any time would have been impressive, but doing this amidst the global pandemic, whilst juggling many other existential priorities and the limitations of face-to-face interactions is truly commendable.”

“EMpower is delighted that our partner Roots of Health is reaching yet another milestone in their work in Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights with the launch of the ‘Teen Pregnancy Report’. We look forward to reading the full report and have a better understanding of the issue from the perspective of the girls and young women, and what could be done to increase their safety, autonomy, and opportunities to reach their full potential, ”

Raisa Santos, Preethika Sundararaj, and Amy Willerford, Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health
“Empowering adolescent women requires we listen to their stories to gain perspective of what they need to lead their healthiest and most successful lives. It also requires comprehensive sexual education that engages not only adolescent women, but men as well, emphasizing the importance of consent and autonomy for women in making informed decisions regarding their sexual health. We are delighted to have been a part of this essential work to enhance our collective approach to meeting the social and health needs of adolescents in the Philippines throughout their lifetime.”

*not her real name

ABOUT UGAT NG KALUSUGAN / ROOTS OF HEALTH

Ugat ng Kalusugan (Roots of Health), founded in 2009, 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. The organization improves women’s and young people’s reproductive health and decreases the number of unplanned pregnancies and HIV incidence by providing sexuality health education and access to modern contraceptives through a clinical services program.

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.

ABOUT EMPOWER

EMpower sits at the nexus of two worlds — finance and youth leadership — where they put smart money behind smart solutions.

EMpower has been weaving these contributions together for 20 years — and they’re just getting started. Their work today builds upon the best of their legacy: high-touch connections, locally-driven grant making and a curation of global best practices. As they move into the next decade, they are deepening their impact through more and bigger grants, made better through youth-centered decision making and an expanded footprint on the ground. At a time when our world needs shared efforts more than ever, EMpower is proud to connect many forces for change to create a better world.

ABOUT THE MAILMAN SCHOOL OF PUBLIC HEALTH

For nearly 100 years, the Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health has been a global leader in advancing education, research and practice to prevent disease and disability and improve the health of entire populations. Since 1922, the Mailman School has been at the forefront of public health research, education, and community collaboration. Addressing everything from chronic disease to HIV/AIDS to healthcare policy, the School tackles today’s pressing public health issues, translating research into action.

Every year, Roots of Health hosts graduate students from the Mailman School for their practicum field placement. This is an opportunity for students to apply the concepts and methods of social science and public health learned in the classroom to actual public health problems. 

The post Understanding Teen Pregnancy in the Philippines and What We Can Do About It appeared first on Roots Of Health.

Puerto Princesa City, Palawan, PHILIPPINES―In an effort to help address the reproductive health disparities and vulnerabilities that women and young people face during the COVID-19 pandemic, Roots of Health (ROH), in partnership with WomenStrong International, is launching its Learning Product, “Communities, Contraceptives and COVID-19: Ensuring Continued Access to Reproductive Health Services in the New Normal” on Friday, July 9, 2021.

The Learning Product was ROH’s brainchild after providing over 18,000 women and girls with access to contraception in 2020, almost 9% more than the previous year, a significant and stunning feat despite the pandemic restrictions.

In the country, over 196,000 Filipino girls between the ages of 15 and 19 give birth every year. The pandemic has made the situation even worse with fewer services, resulting in the continued increase in teen pregnancy, maternal deaths, and HIV cases. These had been at the center of ROH’s initiatives to encourage more health-seeking behavior among women and young people.

Recognizing the challenges in providing services even before the COVID-19 pandemic, the Learning Product can offer reproductive health care providers and stakeholders insights on continued access to reproductive health care during a pandemic and other similar public health system disruptions. The guide features an anthology of best practices derived from experiences on the ground working with women and young people. 

With its ultimate goal to improve access to RH services for women and youth outside Palawan, health care providers and civil service organizations are enjoined to adopt ROH’s best practices in providing community-based RH services during COVID-19; and making health facilities more youth-friendly, through ROH’s Youth-Friendly Clinics Assessment Tool.

As women and young people struggle with access to reproductive health education and services, a situation amplified by the pandemic, ROH hopes to curb teen pregnancy, maternal mortality, and HIV, by increasing awareness on unmet need for reproductive health services amid COVID-19 and its consequent sexual health vulnerabilities.

“Communities, Contraceptives and COVID-19: Ensuring Continued Access to Reproductive Health Services in the New Normal” is written by Amina Evangelista Swanepoel (ROH Executive Director) and Amie Perez (ROH Media Director), with illustrations by Aaron Bonete and layout by Gloria Lim.

Download the PDF version here.

The post Roots of Health Launches Guide on Providing Continued Reproductive Health Services During COVID-19 appeared first on Roots Of Health.

Thanks to our supporters, we managed to continue providing all this in 2020, and more. Here’s a quick recap of what we couldn’t have done without our passionate supporters who donated and advocated for reproductive health rights.

SERVICES

We knew that COVID-19 lockdowns would contribute to mistimed and unwanted pregnancies. That’s why we worked hard to provide contraceptives to women and girls all over Palawan.

Unfortunately, we had to shut down our clinics for 3 weeks. We had to pause providing prenatal screenings to reduce health risks for our clinical staff.

But many women and young people were still able to access birth control, despite restrictions on their movements. Our clinical staff traveled to remote areas for women and girls who could not make it to our clinics. As soon as we were allowed to reopen our clinics, we installed safety measures and put an appointment system in place, in order to minimize COVID-19 risks to our clients and clinical staff. During the latter part of the year, pregnant women were again able to access prenatal care, as we resumed providing this service in our main clinic.

Last year, we started providing HIV screening in our clinics. Unfortunately, due to COVID disruptions, we had to rely more on our community-based screeners this year, especially for young people unable to travel to our clinics.

Roots of Health nurse Piety administers a birth control shot to a client. With this contraceptive, women won’t have to worry about unplanned pregnancies for up to three months.

In 2020, we were able to:

• Provide 18,383 women and girls with their contraceptive of choice, ensuring that they do not have an unplanned pregnancy;
• Support over 75 pregnant women and girls; and
• Provide 2,859 prenatal checkups and free prenatal vitamins:
• Screen 189 clients for HIV

Make 2021 safer for women.

EDUCATION AND TRAINING

Many young people still have a lot to learn about sexual health. Before COVID-19, we traveled to different schools all over Palawan, including far-flung islands and remote municipalities. We taught classes about puberty, pregnancy, sexually transmitted infections and other sexual health concerns.

As schools have been closed since March, we’ve been unable to conduct in-person education sessions for large groups. We’ve gone online with information sharing and consultations, so women and young people can still access information on pregnancy, contraceptives, HIV and other sexual health issues.

We converted existing materials into bite-sized social media posts that are easily readable and comprehensible for online audiences. Through different Facebook groups for various stakeholders, such as parents, young people, health workers, and teachers, we were able to deliver information on sexual and reproductive health to the people who needed them.

This year, we were able to:

• Reach a total of 3.6 million social media users with information on reproductive health;
• Deliver information to 1,713 people in Facebook groups;
• Answer 12,577 questions about reproductive health received on our clinic pages.

Make 2021 safer for young people.

SYSTEMS STRENGTHENING

We continued to support our government counterparts with the creation of local legislation that supports reproductive health services and education. Despite the mobility restrictions due to COVID-19, health centers did not have to worry about contraceptive stockouts, thanks to the logistical support we provided, especially when lockdowns began.

We contributed personal protective equipment for health care workers in Puerto Princesa. Frontliners and persons under quarantine for COVID-19 were also given free contraceptives and HIV screening.

Community Health Advocates practice with each other, as they learn how to take a client’s vital signs.

Large gatherings were not allowed, so we had to scale down our training sessions with different stakeholders and trained them in much smaller groups instead. This year, we trained a total of 408 reproductive health allies, including youth council members, community health workers, service providers, nurses and midwives. We focused the sessions on how to make their services more youth-friendly, and how to continue providing reproductive health services during the pandemic.

Make 2021 safer for Filipinos.

Despite all the uncertainties and crises we faced in 2020, your support made this all possible. Thank you for continuing to believe in us.

We are excited to continue our important, life-saving work to make the coming year safer for more Filipino women and young people, and we would appreciate your help. If you haven’t already, please consider donating to our #Safer2021 campaign. We’re excited to share that for the first time, we’re doing our year-end fundraiser on our own website. This means your entire donation will go to Roots of Health, without third-party fees.

We’d love your help in raising $10,000 before the year ends!

Donate until December 31, and your donation will qualify as tax deductible for the year 2020, either in the United States or the Philippines.

You may make an online donation here, or contact us if you’d like to make a donation through other channels.

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