Towards 100 percent access to RHS

In the year 2000, the United Nations adopted the Millennium Development Goals (MDG) which provide a benchmark for the different UN member countries, including the Philippines, to eradicate extreme poverty and ensure human development by the year 2015.

The achievement of these goals calls for the participation and harmonization of activities of all sectors of society, with the government providing the policy environment though the passage of legislative and executive measures.

The eight MDGs are: eradicate extreme poverty and hunger, achieve universal primary education, promote gender equality, reduce child mortality, improve maternal health, combat HIV/AIDS, TB and malaria, ensure environmental sustainability, and develop a global partnership for development.

During the past year, the Institute for Social Studies and Action embarked on a year-long project entitled "Developing a Local Monitoring System on the Millennium Development Goal 5: Target 7 — Increase access to Reproductive Health (RH) Services to 80 percent by 2010 and 100 percent by 2015."

The project has assisted a local government unit — the province of La Union — to fulfill its obligation to monitor the MDGs, particularly in relation to four sensitive and complex focus areas: teenage pregnancy, sexually transmitted infections among teen-agers, prevention and management of abortion and its complications, and violence against women (VAW).

The project, conducted in cooperation with the Social Weather Stations (SWS), the province of La Union, and the Delegation of the European Commission to the Philippines, covered two activities — the conduction of a household survey to, among others, come up with an accurate and relevant baseline data on service components of reproductive health, and the holding of a forum early last month, during which the results of the survey were validated. A concluding activity would be disseminating information on the whole project in Metro Manila this month.

The household survey was conducted in the province of La Union, which is considered one of the country’s more progressive provinces, and which is strongly committed to the achievement of the MDGs.

Last month, the results of the survey were presented at a validation forum in San Fernando, La Union, with participants coming from provincial government agencies, non-government organizations and academic institutions. San Fernando Mayor Mary Jane C. Ortega and Provincial Health Officer Dr. Jose C. Ostrea highlighted city and provincial health programs that justified the choice of La Union as the venue of the project.

At the forum’s opening, Prof. Alfredo Tadiar, chair of the ISSA board of directors, explained that the project is in line with the priorities of ISSA as an advocacy, training and research NGO established in 1983 that protects and promotes human rights, particularly sexual and reproductive health and rights and advances access to justice and health of women, youth, and marginalized sectors of society.

The survey methodology was explained by SWS president Mahar Mangahas, and the results presented by Dr. Caridad Ancheta of the UP College of Public Health. Respondents numbered 2,000. These were married, separated or single men and women, with education of from none to college graduates, not working and working, with children numbering from 1 to 15, ages at which the respondents had their first sexual experience.

The findings showed the following: There is high awareness of family planning, but low usage of family planning. Satisfaction over the use depending on the method used, with full satisfaction over surgical methods and low to moderate satisfaction over the chemical and barrier methods. The proportion of teenage pregnancy decreased with the age of the women respondents. The younger respondents are more aware about STIs. There is a low proportion of those experiencing STIs. Abortion occurred in 1.6 percent of women. There is low reporting of Violence Against Women cases.

Dr. Ancheta recommended that the general population be empowered by focusing on the clients and the personnel the clients are consulting, strengthening the capability of government facilities and personnel to handle different reproductive health events, and making resources available and accessible to the clients.

At the validation forum, Dr. Florence Tadiar, MDG project director and ISSA chief executive officer, expressed satisfaction about project outcome’s going to be useful for local governments in tracking progress towards meeting goals and targets on increasing access to reproductive health.

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