PHL loses P33 billion annually for failing to address teen pregnancy — UNFPA

The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) said the Philippines loses P33 billion annually for failing to address teenage pregnancy.

In a statement about the the State of World Population Report 2016, UNFPA representative in the Philippines Klaus Beck said, "In the Philippines, teenage pregnancy limits far too many girls’ hopes, dreams and aspirations. It also costs the country around P33 billion each year in foregone earnings." 

"Many young girls do not have access to advice, information and services to prevent pregnancy," the UNFPA said.

The agency noted that there are 10 million girls, aged 10 to 19, in the Philippines. 

UNFPA data shows that by age 19, "4 in 10 girls are — or will soon be — mothers."   

"By ensuring the over 1 million 10 year-old girls in the Philippines get the tools, know-how and opportunities they need to meet their potential, they could each earn over 45 percent more over the next 15 years – that’s an extra 12.8 per cent of today’s GDP," Beck said.

Worldwide, there are are 60 million 10-year-old girls.

The UNFPA said more than half of these girls live in the 48 countries with the worst gender inequality and are at risk of being pulled out of school, forced to work, trafficked, or sold. 

In the Philippines, the UNFPA said an additional challenge is promoting wider access to family planning and comprehensive sexuality education.

The report shows that 71% of the first premarital sex are unprotected, putting individuals at great risk of contracting Sexually Transmitted Infections (STIs) in the country.

According to the UNFPA data, HIV prevalence among 15- to 24-year-olds in the Philippines have increased by 780% between 2001 to 2015.

To address the alarming statistics, the UNFPA launched the "10 Essential Actions for the 10-Year-Old Girl" on top of the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and its accompanying 17 Sustainable Development Goals:

1. Stipulate legal equality for girls, backed by consistent legal practice.
2. Ban all harmful practices against girls, and make 18 the minimum marriage age.
3. Provide safe, high-quality education that fully upholds gender equality in curricula, teaching standards and extracurricular activities.
4. In working towards universal health care, institute a 10-year-old mental and physical health check-up for all girls.
5. Provide age-appropriate comprehensive sexuality education when puberty begins.
6. Institute a rigorous and systematic focus on inclusion, acting on allfactors rendering girls vulnerable to being left behind.
7. Track and close investment gaps in young adolescent girls.
8. Mobilize new funds for mental health, protection and reducing unpaid work that constrains options for girls.
9. Use the 2030 Agenda data revolution to better track progress for girls, including on sexual and reproductive health.
10. Engage girls, boys and all the people around them in challenging and changing gender discriminatory norms. 

"How we invest in and support 10-year-old girls today will determine what our world will look like in 2030," Beck noted.

"With support from family, community and nation, and the full realization of her rights, a 10-year-old girl can thrive and help bring about the future we all want," he added. — VVP, GMA News