The United Nations Population Fund has reached nearly 24,000 people in various reproductive health-related services provided to survivors of typhoon Pablo in three affected provinces in Mindanao as of March 21.

Of the total, 7,761 are women of reproductive age that includes 2,332 pregnant women and 2,029 breastfeeding mothers. The rest are women and girls who are neither pregnant nor breastfeeding but are already capable of getting pregnant, usually in the age between 10 and 44 years old.

Services provided through UNFPA’s local partners include pre/post-natal medical care, infant check up, distribution of medicines and multivitamins, dignity kits for pregnant and lactating women, hygiene kits for women and men, and conduct of information sessions on reproductive health topics such as safe motherhood, family planning, prevention of sexually transmitted infection, adolescent reproductive health and prevention of gender-based violence. Information materials on these topics were also distributed.

These services were delivered through regular community outreach activities. They are also integrated in health facilities and women-friendly spaces, which serve as a venue for the delivery of the services and other assistance mentioned, in some municipalities.

The provinces assisted include Compostela Valley and Davao Oriental, which were the worst-affected areas, and Surigao del Sur, which also had casualties.

The UNFPA humanitarian missions reached 15,904 people in Davao Oriental, 7,593 in Compostela Valley, and 173 in Surigao del Sur. There are 5,131 women of reproductive age served in Compostela Valley, 2,457 in Davao Oriental and 173 in Surigao del Sur.

There is a need for continuous assistance as, according to the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), there are still 16,213 people displaced by typhoon Pablo who remain in evacuation centers, while 838,806 are outside evacuation centers. More than 200,000 homes were either totally or partially damaged during the typhoon.

Among the agencies and organizations supported by UNFPA to deliver reproductive health services as part of the Pablo humanitarian response are the local governments of the affected provinces, the Family Planning Organization of the Philippines, Child Alert and Plan International.