Magsaysay awardee’s population control program may be something to consider

With the raging issue of population explosion confronting the Philippines, it might be best to learn a thing or two from an outsider whose grassroots population control program proved successful in his own country.

But the alternative methods of family planning which Thailand’s Mechai Viravaidya used in educating the people on population management could ignite debates anew in a predominantly Catholic nation as the Philippines.

In 1994, Viravaidya was honored by the Ramon Magsaysay Award Foundation (RMAF) for public service and cited for his "creative public campaign" in Thailand to promote family planning and rural development.

Viravaidya, a UNAIDS ambassador, was also recognized for his "rigorous, honest, and compassionate response" against the deadly plague of AIDS, or acquired immune deficiency syndrome.

He will work anew with the RMAF with the idea of expanding public awareness on population management and AIDS in mind via technology.

Through the Asian Exchange to be held tomorrow at the Ramon Magsaysay Center, Viravaidya and fellow awardee Filipino Jesse Robredo, who is mayor of Naga City, are featured in a real-time electronic chat (e-chat) with the media.

Robredo, who will talk about E-governance in the local setting, was cited by the RMAF in 2000 for government service in "his giving credence to the promise of democracy by demonstrating that effective city management is compatible with yielding power to the people."

Having been a well-known personality in the global fight against AIDS, Viravaidya in 1999 was chosen as UNAIDS ambassador in the United Nations’ effort to address the AIDS epidemic in Asia.

According to the UN, the community-based family planning services of the Population and Community Development Association — a non-profit organization which Viravaidya founded — resulted in the number of children per family in Thailand dropping from seven to two in a 20-year period.

This was one of the most rapid fertility declines recorded in the modern era, the UN said.

Viravaidya founded the PDA in 1974 as it pioneered in community-based family-planning services and training, eventually reaching 16,000 Thai villages.

In Viravaidya’s successful program, respected local persons imparted the benefits of fertility management to neighbors and made contraceptive methods easily available.

Meanwhile, Viravaidya’s penchant for humorous and uninhibited publicity demystified birth control and made his own name popularly synonymous with the condom.

Working with government, PDA’s initiative helped reduce Thailand’s annual birthrate by half between 1968 and today.

The Population Commission (PopCom) earlier said the Philippines needs to improve on its maternal health and population management programs to meet the goals of the 1994 International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD).

PopCom records showed that 20 percent of married women do not have access to reproductive health services. ICPD has targeted that by 2005, such "unmet needs" have been fully addressed by 2015.

The Church wields considerable influence on policy issues in the predominantly Catholic nation and campaigns against officials who promote artificial contraception.

The proposed legislative measure limiting families to only two children each have been shot down by practically all sectors of society.

The Philippines has a population of close to 84 million, ranking it as the 12th most populous country in the world. Thailand’s is estimated at more than 64 million.

The Philippines’ population is expected to grow to 118.4 million by 2025 and to 147.3 million by 2050.

President Arroyo has said population explosion is not her foremost concern, calling on Congress instead to first tackle bills prioritized by her administration.