Provincial Consultative Meeting on International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) @ 15 (Part 6)

Resource Speaker: Dr. Magdalena Abellera POPCOM Bicol Director She reported the key ICPD@ 15 indicators with strong emphasis on the significance of the Program of Action (PoA) putting people first as the core of development side-by-side with the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). The Philippine government according to Dr. Abellera lags behind compared to other countries in ICPD PoA and MDGs attainment due to strong opposition by influential sectors which include among others the Roman Catholic Church. Among examples discussed is the Reproductive Health Bill. There is a need for the Philippine government to renew its commitment to ICPD and MDG agenda through expanded action on poverty reduction and humanitarian assistance. There is a need for various stakeholders to work together in disseminating information and influence behaviour, she said. There is a low level of understanding on the use of contraception that results to low level of contraception use in the Philippines. Dr. Abellera expects the country’s population might double by 2039 or within 32 years from now. The access to Reproductive Health Services target by 2015 seemed unachievable including MDG programs and ICPD goals like maternal health care, primary education, malnutrition and population and environment with merely five years remaining, she said. There is an urgent need to establish national and local reproductive health and population policies.