by Romar Miranda

Puerto Princesa City, Palawan, PHILIPPINES―In an effort to help address the reproductive health disparities and vulnerabilities that women and young people face during the COVID-19 pandemic, Roots of Health (ROH), in partnership with WomenStrong International, is launching its Learning Product, “Communities, Contraceptives and COVID-19: Ensuring Continued Access to Reproductive Health Services in the New Normal” on Friday, July 9, 2021.

The Learning Product was ROH’s brainchild after providing over 18,000 women and girls with access to contraception in 2020, almost 9% more than the previous year, a significant and stunning feat despite the pandemic restrictions.

In the country, over 196,000 Filipino girls between the ages of 15 and 19 give birth every year. The pandemic has made the situation even worse with fewer services, resulting in the continued increase in teen pregnancy, maternal deaths, and HIV cases. These had been at the center of ROH’s initiatives to encourage more health-seeking behavior among women and young people.

Recognizing the challenges in providing services even before the COVID-19 pandemic, the Learning Product can offer reproductive health care providers and stakeholders insights on continued access to reproductive health care during a pandemic and other similar public health system disruptions. The guide features an anthology of best practices derived from experiences on the ground working with women and young people. 

With its ultimate goal to improve access to RH services for women and youth outside Palawan, health care providers and civil service organizations are enjoined to adopt ROH’s best practices in providing community-based RH services during COVID-19; and making health facilities more youth-friendly, through ROH’s Youth-Friendly Clinics Assessment Tool.

As women and young people struggle with access to reproductive health education and services, a situation amplified by the pandemic, ROH hopes to curb teen pregnancy, maternal mortality, and HIV, by increasing awareness on unmet need for reproductive health services amid COVID-19 and its consequent sexual health vulnerabilities.

“Communities, Contraceptives and COVID-19: Ensuring Continued Access to Reproductive Health Services in the New Normal” is written by Amina Evangelista Swanepoel (ROH Executive Director) and Amie Perez (ROH Media Director), with illustrations by Aaron Bonete and layout by Gloria Lim.

Download the PDF version here.