THE Philippines has committed to fully implement reproductive health and population-related policies to reduce poverty and meet the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Ernesto M. Pernia made the commitment at the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) Programme of Action in Nairobi.
Pernia said fully implementing the reproductive health and population-related policies will help meet the poverty target of 14 percent by 2022 and the SDGs by 2030.
“We want to ensure that every pregnancy and every birth is wanted and that every Filipino is able to contribute productively to national development,” Pernia said.
“All our unified efforts to carry out the ICPD agenda are spelled out in our Philippine Development Plan [PDP] 2017-2022,” he added.
Apart from this, the Philippines also commits to accelerate efforts to reach and optimize the demographic dividend.
This will be met by scaling up maternal and infant health programs in the first 1,000 days of life of the child.
Pernia said the population and family program will also accelerate the demographic transition.
“The Philippine economy is closer to achieving upper middle-income country status. There are fewer Filipinos living in poverty, fewer mothers dying while giving life, and more couples and individuals are able to achieve their desired number of children,” Pernia said.
He added that the Philippines will also increase its investments for the promotion of the ICPD and SDGs.
Pernia said the PDP under the Duterte administration is crucial given that it is the first in four medium-term development plans that aim to meet the country’s long-term vision.
The long-term vision or AmBisyon 2040 aims to make Philippine society a “prosperous middle-class society where no one is poor.”
Replacement rate
Earlier, the Commission on Population and Development (Popcom) said the Philippine population is on track to reaching replacement rate in five years.
The latest population estimates, based on the 2015 Population Census, from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) showed that the replacement rate of 2.1 children per woman is attainable by 2025.
By 2025, the PSA estimates there would be 115.378 million Filipinos. Around 58.19 million are males and 57.186 million are females.
Perez explained that the three conditions in reaping the demographic dividend includes the reduction of the total fertility rate (TFR) of 2.1 which, based on PSA estimates, is already attainable by 2025.
However, when it comes to the two other conditions, Perez said much work still needs to be done. These two conditions are: that majority are working-age population, the dependency ratio is 50 percent.
“The third item is very much a work in progress but should go hand in hand with reduction of TFR. Demographic dividend is not automatic if unemployment remains high among young people and women,” Perez said.
Based on the latest Labor Force Survey (LFS) data, youth unemployment increased to 14.4 percent while unemployment rate among women increased to 39.4 percent in July.