In the Philippines, there are 2.6 million married women and 5.1 million unmarried women who wanted to use family planning, but were not able to do so in 2017, according to the National Demographic Health Survey. Eliminating this ‘unmet need’ for family planning is at the heart of UNFPA’s mission.
UNFPA’s supports government partners in implementing President Rodrigo Duterte’s Executive Order on “Zero Unmet Need for Modern Family Planning,” and the integration of family planning in the implementation of the recently enacted Universal Health Care Law.
Two internationally-agreed frameworks guide UNFPA’s efforts to assist the Philippines in realizing this mission: the Programme of Action adopted at the 1994 International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
The ICPD recognizes that voluntary, good quality family planning services that include counselling and access to contraceptives must be available, accessible and affordable to all including in humanitarian emergencies. Women, couples and girls should be able to decide for themselves whether, when or how often to become pregnant. It is a human right, central to gender equality and women’s empowerment, and it is a key factor in reducing poverty.
UNFPA supports the Department of Health in the development, implementation and monitoring of multi-year costed implementation plans for the National Family Planning Programme. We also help DOH to improve its family planning information systems especially in the areas of data generation and logistics management to ensure access to modern family planning methods.
UNFPA supports the 10-point Socio-Economic Agenda of the Philippine Government by mainstreaming family planning across the health and non-health sectors as a lead technical adviser in the National Implementation Team of the Responsible Parenthood and Reproductive Health Law.
UNFPA also assists the Commission on Population and Development in creating more demand among citizens for modern contraceptives, mobilizing the private sector in providing family planning information and services to their employees, as well as promoting South-South Cooperation with a neighboring country to share good practice on family planning.
To help guide decision makers on family planning, UNFPA is undertaking a series of studies on the barriers and bottlenecks to family planning among those furthest left behind, including people with disabilities, young people, indigenous people, farmers and fisherfolk, and people affected by conflicts and disasters.
1. Multi-year National Implementation Plans that ensure universal access to comprehensive sexual and reproductive health. (USD 5,325,000 from 2019 to 2023; of which USD 940,000 is unfunded)
2. Study on the Barriers and Bottlenecks to Family Planning (USD 3,620,000 from 2019 to 2023; of which USD 2,620,000 is unfunded)
3. Private Sector Project on Business Action for Family Planning (USD 455,000 from 2019 to 2020)