TACLOBAN CITY -- The Commission on Population (PopCom) 8 (Eastern Visayas) wheels off this week a Family Planning Caravan to serve the unmet needs of women in identified areas in this city and Biliran province.
PopCom-8 Director Elnora Pulma said Thursday the caravan is one way of bringing the family planning services and commodities closer to the people.
Women who want to postpone their next baby for two or more years, or want to totally stop childbearing but have not used any contraceptive method, are said to have unmet needs for family planning.
As of last month, Eastern Visayas posted a total of 9,753 unmet needs for women. However, no data is available on the number of women of childbearing age in the region.
The caravan underscores courage and choice among couples with the theme, “Pamilyang Planado, Panalo #FPTryMo”, to be more confident in claiming their reproductive rights, especially their right to choose when to have children and how many in accordance with their socioeconomic, emotional and psychological capacity.
The caravan brings with it sessions on responsible parenthood and family planning information, as well as reproductive health services made available for women of reproductive age.
“We are strongly espousing for universal access to family planning information and services for all women and couples, that they may be able to properly plan their families in accordance with their desired timing, number and spacing of their children,” Pulma said.
She added that investing in the reproductive health of women and couples will later result in economic gains for the region, where families can be financially secure in the years to come.
The caravan hopes to serve more than a thousand from the identified unmet needs in the region, in full consideration of informed choice and volunteerism.
The caravan is conducted in partnership with the local health office, as well as the city and provincial population and health offices. Family planning, globally, also contributes to the attainment of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. (PNA)
