Close X
Thursday, November 14, 2024
ADVT 
International

Philippines Only Country In Asia Where Teen Pregnancy Rising

Darpan News Desk IANS, 07 Jul, 2016 11:45 AM
    MANILA, Philippines — The Philippines is the only Asia-Pacific country where the rate of teen pregnancies rose over the last two decades and the slow decline of its overall fertility rate may deprive the country of the faster economic growth expected in places that have more working-age people than younger and older dependents, the U.N. Population Fund said Thursday.
     
    Girls aged 15 to 19 make up 10 per cent of the country's population of 100 million and one out of 10 of them have already given birth, UNFPA country representative Klaus Beck said.
     
    That fertility rate in that age group is 57 births for every 1,000 girls as of 2013 — higher than rates found by surveys every five years from 1998.
     
    He emphasized the urgency of fully implementing a reproductive health law, investing in quality education and health services for teenage girls, and increasing jobs for youth.
     
    The cost of not finishing high school education over the lifetime of young people would be equivalent to about 1 per cent of the country gross domestic product, he added.
     
     
    The study supported by UNFPA found that "due to the slow reduction in the fertility rate the country may not be able to benefit fully from the demographic dividend," or the balance of its population among children, working-age adults (age 15 to 65) and elderly. It said the window of time to reap economic benefits from the favourable demographics was closing fast.
     
    The Philippines' total fertility rate was 3 births per woman as of 2013, falling at a slow pace of 1.6 per cent per year from 7 births per woman in 1960. But the poorest quintile of the population has a higher fertility rate of 5.2 births per woman as of 2013.
     
    "With the right policies and investments in human capital, countries can empower young people to drive economic and social development and boost per-capita incomes," Beck said.
     
    Economic Planning Secretary Ernesto Pernia said the administration of new President Rodrigo Duterte will ensure quality education for the youth and full implement of the reproductive health law that guarantees universal access to methods of contraception, sexual education, and maternal care.
     
    The Supreme Court ruled the law was constitutional in 2013 but a year later it banned dispensing of subdermal implants, a popular birth control method because it is long-term and safe for breastfeeding women.
     
     
    Pernia said the government aims to reduce poverty by 1.25 per cent to 1.5 per cent each year, and a big push for that would be to reduce the number of children among the poorest people, citing surveys that show those couples have more children than they wanted.

    MORE International ARTICLES

    Union To Strike Against Trump Taj Mahal Casino

    Union To Strike Against Trump Taj Mahal Casino
    ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. — Still seething from the cancellation of its members' health insurance and pension benefits nearly two years ago, Atlantic City's main casino workers union said early Friday it will go on strike against the Trump Taj Mahal casino.

    Union To Strike Against Trump Taj Mahal Casino

    India Abstains As United Nations Creates LGBT Rights Watchdog

    India Abstains As United Nations Creates LGBT Rights Watchdog
    India has abstained at the UN Human Rights Council voting in Geneva to appoint an independent expert to look into cases of violence and discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity, a resolution which was passed by a narrow margin.

    India Abstains As United Nations Creates LGBT Rights Watchdog

    Another Hindu Priest Hacked To Death In Bangladesh, India Voices Concern

    Another Hindu Priest Hacked To Death In Bangladesh, India Voices Concern
    Shyamananda Das, 50, was serving at the Sri Sri Radha Madan Gopal temple at Uttar Kastasagarha in the Jhenaidah district's Sadar Upazila for the past three years, bdnews24.com reported.

    Another Hindu Priest Hacked To Death In Bangladesh, India Voices Concern

    Texas Abortions Fell Sharply Under Law Supreme Court Voided

    Texas Abortions Fell Sharply Under Law Supreme Court Voided
    Abortions in Texas plummeted about 15 per cent during the first year after approval of tough restrictions that the U.S. Supreme Court has since struck down — a decline that activists say shows how hard it had become to get an abortion in America's second-largest state.

    Texas Abortions Fell Sharply Under Law Supreme Court Voided

    RSS Chief To Address Hindu Gathering In Britain

    RSS Chief To Address Hindu Gathering In Britain
    RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat will visit Britain in July to participate in a Hindu gathering in a bid to attract British Hindu youths to Indian culture.

    RSS Chief To Address Hindu Gathering In Britain

    Two Indians Abducted In Nigeria, Confirms Government

    Two Indians Abducted In Nigeria, Confirms Government
    The government on Friday confirmed reports that two Indian nationals have been kidnapped in Nigeria and said that the Indian mission in the West African nation is closely coordinating with local agencies in the wake of the incident.

    Two Indians Abducted In Nigeria, Confirms Government