Challenges and opportunities in preventing teenage pregnancies in the Philippines

The teenage pregnancy rate in the Philippines is among the highest in Asean with 53 births per 1,000 women aged between 15 and 19 years. This is 38 percent higher compared to the rate in 2006 that was reported at 39 per 1,000 women. The rise in teenage pregnancies have been attributed to the lack of age-appropriate information and services on reproductive health, particularly family planning. The lack of information and services was particularly damaging among teenagers in the poorest income quintile, whose pregnancy rates are nearly twenty times higher than that of the richest income group. The passage of the Responsible Parenthood and Reproductive Health Act is expected to spur various initiatives to prevent unwanted pregnancies, particularly among teenagers. The law provides for age appropriate education on RH and defines specific conditions when teenagers can access reproductive health services even without parental consent. It is expected however that interventions to prevent teenage pregnancies will be controversial, hence the need to carefully select culturally-appropriate approaches that have proven effective in other country settings.