CAMP DARAPANAN, Maguindanao, Philippines – Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) Chair Al-Haj Murad Ebrahim welcomed a new collaboration on reproductive health with UNFPA, the United Nations Population Fund, saying it is an important step to enlighten the Bangsamoro people on family planning.
UNFPA and the Bangsamoro Development Agency (BDA), the development arm of the MILF, recently signed an agreement that aims to improve delivery of reproductive health services such as maternal and infant care and family planning to the Bangsamoro areas.
“While reproductive health is very much welcome as far as MILF is concerned, there are biases against family planning among the Muslim population because of issues that are not fairly addressed. This (partnership) is a very good move because it will enlighten and will give the right information to our people regarding reproductive health,” Murad said.
The MILF chief especially acknowledged UNFPA’s close cooperation with the Muslim Religious Leaders (MRLs) in Mindanao in southern Philippines to promote a better understanding of family planning in the context of Islam.
Murad also recognized the need for better social services in the Bangsamoro areas to alleviate poverty and promote peace and development. The region, which is besieged with more than four decades of armed conflict, has the highest poverty incidence in the Philippines at 47 per cent and the highest maternal mortality ratio at 264 deaths per 100,000 live births.
Following the signing of the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro by the Government of the Philippines and the MILF last year, health was identified as one of the priority programmes for the region. Murad said he is pleased that the collaboration between BDA and UNFPA is well along the line of normalization process for the Bangsamoro people.
Contribution to peace building
Klaus Beck, UNFPA Country Representative, emphasized the urgency of addressing the needs of the Bangsamoro people.
“Poverty in the region has been endemic with almost half the population living below poverty line. The region also posted the poorest reproductive health indicators registering the highest maternal and neonatal mortality rates and the highest unmet need for family planning. Much of the deprivation has been caused by conflict and war,” Beck said during a meeting with Murad and other officials of the MILF and BDA at Camp Darapanan in Maguindanao.
Beck stressed that UNFPA is commited to helping achieve peace in the region, no matter how fragile it may be, and is ready to seize whatever opportunities there are to help ensure that reproductive health services are within the reach of the Bangsamoro people.
One of the priorities under the new partnership with BDA is the refurbishing and equipping of part of the existing health center at Camp Darapanan to become a birthing center for women in the community and nearby villages. Health service staff will also be trained on on Basic Emergency Obstetric and Newborn Care and family planning. The clinic will serve as a model for rolling out reproductive health services in other Bangsamoro core territories.Prenatal, postnatal and family planning services will also will be made more accessible to 10 major camps of MILF through an advocacy campaign called "Ligtas Buntis."
For almost two decades now, UNFPA has been working with national and local governments and civil society in the south on programmes that aim to improve the reproductive health of women, adolescents and men in the southern provinces of Maguindanao, Lanao del Sur, Sulu, Tawi-Tawi, North Cotabato and Sultan Kudarat.
For more information, contact:
Arlene Calaguian Alano
UNFPA Communication Officer
Tel: (63-2) 901-0306
