No woman should die giving life. Yet every year 2,400 women and girls die in the Philippines from preventable causes related to pregnancy and childbirth.

Eradicating preventable maternal deaths is a human rights imperative, and it is at the core of UNFPA’s mandate. UNFPA works with the government and civil society organizations to make every pregnancy and childbirth safer, as an integral part of the Responsible Parenthood and Reproductive Health Act and the Universal Health Care Act.

UNFPA works with the Department of Health (DOH) to strengthen health systems and support the development and implementation of policies that prioritize pregnant women’s access to comprehensive sexual and reproductive health information and services.

UNFPA also works with the DOH and other partners to improve policy directions on maternal health by reviewing national data on maternal deaths. In partnership with the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, UNFPA also provides technical support to the BARMM Ministry of Health especially for the provinces of Lanao del Sur and Maguindanao.

UNFPA also supports an analysis of the barriers and bottlenecks to access to sexual and reproductive health services for those groups furthest behind including people with disabilities, farmers and fisherfolk, young people, indigenous people, and people affected by conflict and disaster.

Pregnancy and childbirth must be as safe as possible even during and in the aftermath of natural disasters and conflicts. UNFPA deploys health and hygiene supplies to pregnant and lactating women as well as medical equipment to enable midwives, nurses and doctors to provide safe deliveries, also with support from development partners including Australia. 

Key Projects:

1.         Multi-year National Implementation Plans that ensure universal access to comprehensive sexual and reproductive health (USD 5,325,000 from 2019 to 2023; of which USD 940,000 is unfunded)

2.         Study on the Barriers and Bottlenecks to Family Planning (USD 3,620,000 from 2019 to 2023; of which USD 2,620,000 is unfunded)