EngenderHealth Participates in 2nd National Family Planning Conference

EngenderHealth joined a committed group of family planning advocates from November 7-9 2017 at the Second National Family Planning Conference in Cebu City, Philippines. Along with the goal of sharing good family planning practices and sharing research innovations in family planning technology, attendees all came with the anticipation that the Responsible Parenthood and Reproductive Health (RPRH) law would be fully implemented. The RPRH was created to empower the Filipino people, particularly women and girls, through education and information. At the conference, Health Undersecretary of Health Herminigildo Valle was in attendance and stated that the “RPRH law is a landmark legislation that laid the foundation in the fulfillment of the reproductive health and rights of all Filipinos toward better health outcomes and socioeconomic growth and development.”

At the conference, EngenderHealth’s team made 27 different presentations across a broad topics, ranging from development to mobilization to multi-sectoral engagement.  Dr Josephine Jabonillo, one of the presenters, said “Participating in the NFPC was an enlightening experience for me. It provided me with an opportunity to share our experiences in implementing the family planning program in our municipality. More importantly, I learned so much from the experiences of other program implementers from many places in the Philippines.”

The U.S. Agency for International Development set up a booth highlighting their projects in the Philippines, including EngenderHealth’s VisayasHealth project. The booth was visited by nearly 1,500 conference attendees who hailed from all over the country. Along with handouts, EngenderHealth’s new 2017 Impact Report, “The Power of She” was distributed to those who visited the booth.

Juan Perez III, executive director of the Commission on Population (PopCom) executive director Juan Perez III stressed the importance of effectively implementing the ideas and innovations that came out of the conference, saying “The tremendous success of this conference sends a powerful message of unity, strength, and love to all Filipinos. It also sends a message to those who are hell-bent in delaying the implementation of family planning programs and thereby putting women’s lives in danger every day.” The time to take action is now and with the support of partner organizations and communities, we can continue to better the lives of women and girls across the Philippines.