Nearly half of all global pregnancies each year are unintended, tallying up to 121 million annually or 332,000 daily. Despite the Philippines’ total fertility rate declining, the country still ranks 56th out of 160 countries in unintended pregnancies 2 . This remains a cause for concern, particularly among girls aged 15 to 19 years and younger, at age 10-14, who are seeing an increasing trend in the number of pregnancies, according to the 2022 National Demographic and Health Survey (NDHS). 3 The same report also noted that while half of married Filipino women are using modern family planning (FP) methods, there is still an urgent priority to address unmet needs for family planning, as many Filipinos continue to rely on traditional FP methods.
World Contraception Day celebrates transformative power of contraception knowledge, access to family planning
From left, Mylin Mirasol C. Quiray, acting division chief, Commission on Population and Development (CPD); Jens Fey, senior Bayer representative in ASEAN; Kevin L. De Vera, director for Program and Advocacy, The Forum; Angel-Michael “Mike†Evangelista, managing director and Country Division head - Pharmaceuticals, Bayer Philippines Inc.; Undersecretary Lisa Grace S. Bersales, Ph.D., executive director V, Commission on Population and Development (CPD); Dr. Carmela Luisa Pagunsan, country medical director Pharmaceuticals, Bayer Philippines Inc.; Elaine Peralta, government affairs manager – Pharmaceuticals, Bayer Philippines Inc,; Emmanuel Monsod, consultant for Access to Medicine, Bayer Philippines Inc.
