‘Babaenihan’ to address teenage pregnancy

A campaign has been launched in the Philippines to raise awareness on the urgency of addressing teenage pregnancies through investments in education, health, and economic opportunities.

The Babaenihan Campaign, launched by the United Nations Population Fund and the Office of the Vice President (OVP) at Western Philippines University in Palawan, is the first-ever campaign on the prevention and response to teenage pregnancy supported by the highest female official of the country.

According to the UNFPA, the Philippines is the only country in Southeast Asia where teenage pregnancy is on the rise. Of the 10 million girls aged 10-19 years old today, one in five will be a mother by age 19, according to the 2013 National Demographic and Health Survey.

Babaenihan is a platform by which both the OVP and UNFPA increase awareness about the urgency of addressing teenage pregnancies, calling to action the public and private sectors as well as civil society to urgently tackle this problem affecting girls. The campaign is based on a partnership between UNFPA and the OVP for women empowerment, under the latter’s antipoverty flagship program, Angat Buhay.

Aside from women empowerment, the Angat Buhay Program also champions food security and nutrition, universal healthcare, public education, rural development, and housing and resettlement in the work to uplift the lives of those living in the margins.

The program currently caters to 134 partner local governments and has mobilized over million worth of projects from partners from the public and private sectors.