Urban or rural? Here’s where teenage pregnancy happens more often

The Commission on Population and Development (POPCOM) head on Wednesday presented surveys on teenage pregnancy during the launch of “No More Children Having Children” campaign on Quezon City on Wednesday.

POPCOM executive director Juan Antonio Perez III said that rural areas have more reported teenage pregnancy than urban counterparts.

“Rural girls, 15 to 19 years old, have higher links of  teenage pregnancy,” Perez said during the campaign launch.

Based on the data from the 2017 National Demographic and Health Survey from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA), Perez said that 10 percent of girls from rural areas aged 15-19 years old has begun childbearing.

This is three percentage points higher from the seven percent reported in urban areas.

On Wednesday, both Perez and Philippine Legislators’ Committee on Population and Development (PLCPD) executive director Rom Dongeto said that comprehensive sexuality education in schools and information campaign on reproductive health, which are provisions under the Reproductive Health Law, should be prioritized to prevent teenage pregnancy.

“The Department of Health is supposed to be in charge of the implementation of the what we call comprehensive, sustained behavior change communication,” Dongeto said.

“Dapat noong na-implement itong batas na ito, dapat may pursigido na hahawak dyan, na aabot ng lahat ng isla ng bansa,” he added.

Dongeto, meanwhile, noted that the Department of Education is in charge of implementing the comprehensive sexuality education in schools.

Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Ernesto Pernia earlier tagged teenage pregnancy as ‘’national social emergency,” saying that there were around P33 -billion amount of lost income in the country due to teenage pregnancy. —LDF, GMA News