VARIOUS groups expressed alarm over the increasing number of unintended pregnancies in the country.
According to the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), it said that the Philippines is at the 56th spot among 150 countries with the highest number of unintended pregnancies, wherein 71 out of 1,000 women have experienced unintended pregnancy every year.
In the 2022 State of the World Population Report by the UNFPA, Dr. Leila Saiji Joudane revealed that there are around 121 million pregnancies around the world that were unintended.
She said this can be considered as an “unseen crisis” since not much attention is given to the issue.
According to the UNFPA, there are about 257 million women globally who want to avoid getting pregnant but does not use safe and modern methods of contraception.
Aside from that, half of the women who got pregnant were child-mothers.
Because of this, experts called on the government to craft a plan of action on the issue, such as response to the issue of gender equality and empowerment of women, broader access to contraceptives and reproductive health care, strengthen education and awareness among the youth regarding sexuality and provision of more employment opportunities for women.
Meanwhile, Commission on Population and Development Executive Director Undersecretary Juan Antonio Perez is hoping that the family planning program will be included among those that will be given attention by the incoming administration and receive wider support from legislators.