Women from poor communities in Manila fear that scrapping the Department of Health’s budget for contraceptives will cause an increase in unintended pregnancies, especially for those who rely on health centers for free family planning services and supplies.
Leaders from civil society organizations also deplored the move, which they called a “gross injustice against the marginalized sector.”
Chanda Iguales, 34, from Barangay Don Bosco in Tondo, Manila, is four months pregnant with her sixth child and plans to have the intra-uterine device (IUD), a long-term family planning method, after she gives birth because she doesn’t want to get pregnant anymore. She was teary-eyed when she spoke about how the cut in contraceptives budget would affect poor women like her.
“It’s not right,” she said. “There will be more poor families, and the children will be most affected, they won’t be able to finish school because of the poverty.”
Girlie Florade, 35, from Parola Compound, said she is able to practice family planning because of free contraceptives given at government and NGO clinics. She has had seven children but two died from illnesses. She and her husband are both jobless and only one of her children goes to school.
“The government tells us not to have too many children. If we lose access to free contraceptives, those who are poor like us will suffer. We will have more children and we won’t have enough to feed them. We don’t even have decent jobs,” Girlie complained.
Jenny Hilario from Navotas got pregnant at the age of 16. She doesn’t want to have another baby soon so she went to the NGO-run Likhaan Reproductive Health Clinic in Vitas, Tondo for the contraceptive subdermal implant, which has an effectivity of three years. “Too bad if the free family planning services will go. We are poor so we cannot spend for family planning,” she said.
Aside from poverty, 31-year-old Gladys Pedroche said unintended pregnancies put women’s lives at risk. Speaking from experience, Gladys said she experienced complications while giving birth to her youngest child – her fifth – two years ago.
“It was traumatic, I thought I will undergo Caesarean-section delivery because the baby had a hard time coming out. Since then, I said I don’t want to get pregnant anymore so I availed of IUD,” she narrated.
The Likhaan Reproductive Health clinic serves 60 to 80 family planning clients every day, according to community health worker Lina Bacalando.
Community health worker Lina Bacalando explains the difference between a progestin-only and combined oral contraceptive pills to women at a reproductive health clinic in Manila.
“There is high demand for family planning in these poor communities. If we run out of contraceptives we expect the number of unintended pregnancies to increase. Women who have had a respite from successive pregnancies in recent years because of family planning access will have nowhere to go for free contraceptives,” Lina explained.
She said she was saddened by the news especially since those who will be most affected are very poor women. “They are mere scavengers, port workers, drivers – people who don’t even earn enough to buy food for a day!” she exclaimed.
The United Nations Population Fund has denounced the move to remove funding for contraceptives, noting that access to contraceptives is an essential condition for exercising the basic human right to health as well as the right to reproductive choices.
UNFPA Philippines Country Representative Klaus Beck said that without funding for contraceptives, the Responsible Parenthood and Reproductive Health Law, which was enacted in 2012, will be ineffective.
Civil society leaders have convened the Purple Ribbon for Reproductive Health (PR4RH) movement on 13 January and reminded advocates to remain vigilant in monitoring the implementation of the RH Law.
For more information, contact: Arlene Calaguian Alano, Communications Officer E-mail: alano@unfpa.org Tel: +63 2 901-0306
