In spite of the uncomfortable heat and humidity of the summer season, 18-year-old Marcuebe Cañon didn’t mind carrying her one month old baby while waiting in line to receive medical services during a reproductive health medical mission in the municipality of Compostela in Compostela Valley.

“I am happy that my baby and I can both finally get checked by a doctor. We haven’t had any medical check up since I gave birth to her,” she says.

Marcuebe is one of over 500 teenage girls (pregnant or breastfeeding) who have received services through outreach missions of the Reproductive Health Working Group. Sadly, five of these teenagers were less than 15 years old. Teenage pregnancy increases risks for both mother and child. To date, almost 24,000 women and girls (aged 10-44 years old) have received reproductive health services. This includes over 4,000 women like Marcuebe, who are either pregnant or breastfeeding.

The missions provide medical care for mothers and babies. Complicated, high risk cases are identified and referred to functioning health facilities with transport provided. Other activities that take place during the mission are distribution of medicines and multivitamins, dignity kits for pregnant and lactating women, hygiene kits for women and men, and information sessions on safe motherhood, family planning, HIV and sexually transmitted infections, adolescent reproductive health and gender-based violence.

Much remains to be done, as only 4,000 of an estimated 14,000 pregnant and breastfeeding women, and only 24,000 out of an estimated 107,000 women and girls of child-bearing age have received these services. So far, in Compostela Valley alone 14 per cent of the pregnant women provided with services are teenagers, which is higher than the national average of 9.5 per cent. It is important to note that the impact of these missions extends beyond those displaced by Pablo.

Access to reproductive health information and services was an identified need even before the disaster as many women and girls, especially the poor, who want to limit and space their pregnancy do not have access to reproductive health services. This represents a “silent emergency” which the outreach medical missions also have to contend with. At least 10 health centres, including a District Hospital, in Compostela Valley and Davao Oriental are still unable to provide the medical care that mothers and their newborn children need. Damage to health facilities caused by Pablo is estimated at P2.3 billion. Also, while the medical missions provide family planning counselling, the supply of contraceptives is not enough to meet the demand.

Marcuebe had never attended a family planning session before.  Now she is one of the 24,000 who are empowered and better able to plan when their next pregnancy will be. Access to reproductive health information and services immediately after a disaster is critical to ensure safe deliveries and to save lives of mothers and children. However, what Marcuebe’s experience shows, is that after safely surviving the disaster, continued access to these services is also critical as they recover and build back their lives. 

When a woman can plan her family, she can plan for the future. When young people have the information they need, they can make healthy choices and are empowered to achieve their full potential.  Addressing the reproductive health needs of women and girls, men and boys in the Pablo- affected communities, is at the very heart of recovery efforts to build resilient and sustainable communities.