‘Babaenihan’:
“THIS International Women’s Day, let’s remember that women and girls have [ an] i nnate strength that grows even more when they get the love and support that they need from their community,” said Vice President Leni Robredo during the “Babaenihan” forum at the University of the Philippines Visayas – Iloilo City Campus on March 9.
T h e O f f i c e o f t h e V i c e President (OVP) and the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), the UN’s reproductive health and rights agency, celebrated International Women’s Day by engaging women and girls at UPV, with a simulcast and satellite viewing at the Mindanao State University – Iligan Institute of Technology.
T h e t w o e v e n t s , h e l d simultaneously, are part of the national “Babaenihan” campaign that seeks to raise awareness about the urgency of addressing teenage pregnancy through investments in education, health, and economic opportunities.
The Philippines is the only country i n Southeast Asia where the number of teenage pregnancies annually i s not falling, according to a 2015 UNFPA study. In fact, at the age of 19, one of five girls in the country will already be a young mother, according to the newly released National Demographic and Health Survey of 2017.
“There are economic costs as well,” said UNFPA country representative Klaus Beck. “Every year, the Philippines forfeits around P33 billion in lost income alone due to early pregnancy, according to a study.”
“Babaenihan” seeks to be a platform by which the OVP and the UNFPA can call to action the public and private sectors, the academe as well as civil society to urgently tackle this problem affecting women and girls.
To engage more women and girls around the Philippines, the “Babaenihan” campaign seeks to hold events in both the Visayas and Mindanao regions. In the open forum at UP Visayas, the vice president together with Beck answered the questions of high school students on issues such as gender equality and women’s empowerment. At Mindanao State University in Iligan, young individuals were also given the chance to ask Robredo and the UNFPA official questions, via video conference.
One of the questions came from an internally- displaced woman from Marawi who was concerned about early marriage.
The “Babaenihan” campaign has conducted national- level talks and community- based forums in Pampanga, Palawan, Camarines Sur, and Manila. It is the first ever campaign on the prevention and response to pregnancy supported by the highest female official in the country./