Today marks a huge milestone for us all, as we close a superb project that has brought quality maternal care to thousands more women and girls, empowered a range of indigenous communities, and helped save hundreds of newborn and mother lives.

Under the leadership of the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples and the Department of Health, and with generous support from the European Union, we’ve reached over 117,000 people with advice on family planning and pregnancy, including 8000 pregnant and lactating women across Mindanao.

And since January 2013, 81 health fairs across 10 indigenous areas have reached over 7,200 women with prenatal care, family planning and reproductive health services.

We’ve helped to train doctors, nurses, midwives and community health workers on family planning, emergency obstetrics, gender and reproductive health.

We’ve equipped two community health and birthing stations with fully trained staff, and provided 12 sets of birthing facility equipment to the project sites.

And we’ve run communications campaigns to encourage people to use the new services, to improve their own health and to tackle teenage pregnancy in indigenous and disadvantaged communities. 

The list goes on.

But behind every single statistic - are thousands of real people’s lives that have been made better through your work.

People like Gillian, a 25 year old mother of one from the Dibabawon Indigenous group living in Barangay Camansi. 

After having her first child, Gillian, in consultation with the new community care workers, used family planning to space her births better. 

She wanted to earn more money to add to her husband’s income as a labourer before having another child.

Her son recently started school, and she wants him to be able to keep going with his education, and go all the way to university - if that’s what he wants.

Gillian is now 5 months pregnant with her second child.

Thanks to a new birthing facility and a community health programme nearby, she won’t be forced to make a long journey to ensure a safe birth this time around. 

And with quality services nearby, she is far less likely to die through childbirth.

With family planning options and advice now available, she can stick to her family’s financial plan to save enough cash to ensure her children get the opportunities that she never had. 

Gillian’s story is just one of thousands. Many more indigenous women and girls are now more healthy and productive, and better able to plan their way out of poverty, thanks to your work. 

And looking forward to the next generation, we could soon have a huge, skilled set of graduates to propel themselves, their families and their communities towards a more prosperous and equitable future.

Ladies and Gentlemen, 

In the past, Indigenous groups like Gillian’s have often been a low priority for support. Many also faced discrimination and barriers to accessing key services like health and education. 

By working with indigenous leaders, supporting local businesses and helping almost 11,500 indigenous people get birth certificates, this project has helped to change that. 

With birth certificates, people can now access healthcare, the national insurance system and schools. They can get bank accounts to plan their finances. And whilst safeguarding and celebrating your traditional cultures, you can benefit from the some of the best of non-traditional life as well.

In this sense, the project has truly helped to advance the global vision of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development – that of leaving no-one behind. 

Looking forward, it will be up to the Indigenous Peoples’ Leaders, local LGU partners, the National Commission on Indigenous People and the Department of Health to drive forward the success we’ve seen under the project. 

I sincerely hope that the structures, training methodologies and communications activities are institutionalized into the local and regional planning systems. 

Similarly, the project has, and should continue to generate a wealth of useful data for sound policymaking in tackling maternal deaths, service provision and poverty reduction. 

I personally, and UNFPA as a whole, is proud, honoured and delighted to have been part of this life-changing project. 

And I would like to express my sincere gratitude to the European Union, the National Commission on Indigenous People and the Department of Health for their confidence in allowing us to be part of this.

As always, UNFPA is on hand to assist and advise as best we can in future. 

If there is one clear message from our shared work with and for indigenous communities, it is this:

Safer births and family planning build stronger, empowered communities. And ultimately a more prosperous and equitable nation. 

Thank you very much ug Maayong Hapon sa atoang tanan.