By
Dominic I. Sanchez
ZAMBOANGA
CITY – In an effort to increase awareness on reproductive
health, especially among curious adolescents, the Commission on Population
(POPCOM) held a seminar for this purpose among students of Ayala National High
School Thursday, September 17.
According
to POPCOM’s information officer Cecil Abuy, it is necessary to “equip the youth
with the correct information on reproductive health” to curb misinformation on
the issue, which has caused the spread of teen pregnancies and
sexually-transmitted diseases (STDs) among other adolescent health-related
problems.
In
a study by the University of the Philippines Population Institute, teens are
said to consider their peers as the primary source of information on sex and
adolescent health, and such information may be inaccurate, which lead to
increase in cases of teen pregnancies, and others.
“It
is for this reason that we should really educate the youth and provide them
with the necessary information,” emphasized POPCOM regional director Reynaldo
Wong in an earlier interview.
Director
Wong had emphasized that based on recent studies, region 9 is one of the areas
with high incidence for unprotected sex, and this makes people highly prone to
STDs. The region ranks fourth in the incidence of teen pregnancies nationwide.
Ayala
was chosen as the pilot area for the adolescent health seminar considering the
high incidence of teen pregnancies there.
The
POPCOM has been reaching out to the youth to inform them on adolescent health.
“The youth now are very engaged in gadgets and in social media,” said Director
Wong, hence, they are tapping new technology for their advocacies. “We have
come up with information and education campaign (IEC) materials in multimedia,”
he said.
However,
Director Wong emphasized that “there is still no substitute for good
parenting.”
