MOBILE APP FOR YOUTH. The Commission on Population and Development (Popcom) in Western Visayas on Friday (Nov. 4, 2022) launched an improved version of its mobile application on adolescent and sexual reproductive health. Popcom said it is their strategy to address the many concerns of the younger generation. (Screen grab from Popcom)
ILOILO CITY – The Commission on Population and Development (Popcom) in Western Visayas on Friday launched an improved version of its mobile application that helps young people deal with issues confronting them.
Dubbed as AHlam Na! 2.0, Popcom said the app is more interactive than what was introduced in 2018, which only covered topics on puberty, sexually transmitted infections, human immunodeficiency virus/acquired immune deficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS), and sexuality.
With the launch of the improved app, the younger generation will be treated to more diverse topics, such as mental health, nutrition, immunization, and vaccination. The app will also help them with referral services should they need consultation, advice, and professional intervention.
Popcom regional director Harold Alfred Marshall, in a press conference, said the improvement of the application is a strategy to address issues confronting the younger generation.
He was quick to add though that there is no guarantee that the application would have an immediate impact on teenage pregnancies, one of the most critical issues tied to the youth.
“What we are doing here is simply providing adolescents with correct, proper, relevant, timely information. It's still a matter of choice. If they take it to heart, well and good. If not, we will try other ways of convincing them to be sexually responsible,” Marshall said.
Teenage pregnancy among 10- to 19-year-olds, based on the data of the Philippine Statistics Authority, has gone down from 10.01 percent in 2011 to 9.09 percent in 2020.
The application is available to Android users but Popcom said it might be available to iPhone users next year.
The application was developed in partnership with the Iloilo State College of Fisheries’ College of Information and Communications Technology. (PNA)
