17
Aug 2024
Press Statement: Let’s Teach Children Consent
Atty. Lorna Kapunan was right to enlighten Senator Robin Padilla on marital consent during the recent Senate hearing on sexual harassment, stressing that both spouses have the right to refuse sex, even within marriage. While this may seem like common sense, many Filipinos share Senator Padilla’s view as shown by our analysis of the 2021 Young Fertility and Sexuality Study (YAFS5) by the University of the Philippines Population Institute. Over
Amina Evangelista-Swanepoel Published on Rappler, July 29, 2024 In his 2024 SONA, President Marcos called public school teachers the foundation of our educational system and national learning recovery. He announced benefit packages and upskilling programs for teachers to improve Filipino learners’ literacy, problem-solving, and critical thinking. The President and newly-appointed Department of Education (DepEd) Secretary Sonny Angara must not forget teachers’ professional development in implementing comprehensive sexuality education (CSE) to
19
Feb 2024
Cultivating Strong Roots Together!
We’re Growing our Roots Together! 2023 was a year of growth for Roots of Health as we moved towards expanding our roots and going further in addressing systemic challenges related to teenage pregnancies and HIV! This was not an easy feat especially in the context of new government leaders, rising inflation and media misinformation. The best way of going about it was to have our stakeholders – government workers, teachers,
Puerto Princesa City; February 14, 2024 – Valentine’s Day took on a new dimension for students at Palawan National School as they delved into PAD-ibig Diaries, a groundbreaking initiative merging menstrual pads with illustrated diary entries to foster open dialogue about sex and relationships. Four hundred female students from grades 7 to 10 were treated to limited edition menstrual pads featuring vibrant diary entries about the female anatomy, puberty, crushes,
BUTUAN CITY, JANUARY 26, 2023 – Teachers from 27 public schools in Agusan del Norte, on Friday, participated in an orientation on adolescent sexuality and reproductive health at the Provincial Training Center in Butuan City. The session, conducted by implementers of the I CHOOSE #MalayaAkongMaging campaign, aimed to equip educators with the knowledge and tools to deliver comprehensive sexuality education (CSE) to students. The I CHOOSE campaign, national gold winner
We’re super grateful and humbled to receive two awards today from the Healthy Pilipinas Awards for Partners 2023! 🏆 Roots of Health bagged the Silver Award in Healthy Governance, Healthy Settings, and Health Literacy, for our work in reducing unplanned pregnancies and HIV cases in Palawan. With our partners USAID and the ReachHealth Project, we also won the Gold Award for the I Choose #MalayaAkongMaging campaign – which provides youth-centered
“If we can experience it, we can teach it!” This was the guiding principle embraced by our Youth Team during a series of learning sessions on mental health, facilitated by our Columbia University graduate Fellow, Aimary Rubio. Aimary, a master’s student in clinical psychology, said that the purpose of these sessions was to help our Youth Team explore various facets of what true mental well-being means and equip them with
15
Jun 2023
Coming Soon… Data Driven Municipalities
Data science can dramatically improve public health outcomes. Through the years, Roots of Health has worked with local governments to help them become more data driven in crafting and implementing health programs. We recently helped train 39 health workers on the Field Health Services Information System (FHSIS) which records the scope and coverage of essential public health services. The FHSIS is a crucial part of the Philippines’s information network to
08
Feb 2023
Minors Should Be Able to Access Contraception
Puerto Princesa City, Tuesday, 7 February 2023 — Roots of Health (Ugat ng Kalusugan), a Palawan-based organization that provides educational and clinical services to women and young people, has called on government to allow adolescent access to family planning commodities and services. This, as the Senate held a committee hearing, Tuesday, on three bills that seek to prevent teen pregnancies in the country. Roots of Health Executive Director Amina Evangelista-Swanepoel, speaking
30
Nov 2022
#Stronger 2023
