GROUPS like the Commission on Population and Development (Popcom) are urging people behind community pantries to include contraceptives in their items and health protocols in their methods.
In a statement, Undersecretary for Population and Development (Popdev) Juan Antonio A. Perez III said contraceptives such as condoms and pills can address the public health emergency in teenage pregnancy.
Popcom said these modern contraceptives could fill a void in the rollout of family planning activities, which have been “greatly disrupted by the pandemic.”
“Popcom is very much supportive of community pantries as a form of collective action in alleviating the need for sustenance of our less privileged. We believe that they will welcome the addition of condoms and pills among the goods they will source—with the help of their local healthcare people, Perez said.
Perez said when providing family planning supplies, community pantry initiators should seek the support of local health personnel like barangay health workers (BHWs) and barangay population volunteers (BPVs).
These personnel are knowledgeable of the individuals in their locale who need pills and condoms. The community pantry setup can also help facilitate the line of work of the said BHWs and BPVs.
Apart from community pantries, family planning volunteers are also called upon to hand-out contraceptives in communities. Popcom said house-to-house distribution of methods of contraception are being undertaken in areas that are not under strict lockdown.
“As the most popular family planning method, pills need a prescription or enrollment in the family planning program. Our BHWs and BPVs can be invited to assist in dispensing such,” Perez said.
“[Meanwhile], condoms may be freely given to those who are sexually active and want to avoid HIV infections and other sexually transmitted infections or STIs, as well as those who are mindful of preventing unplanned pregnancies,” he added.
Perez stressed the need to attend to women aged 15 years old to 49 years old since there are about 3,099,000 of them with unmet need for family planning exacerbated by Covid-19 based on the recent study of the University of the Philippines-Population Institute and the United Nations Population Fund.
With family-planning services impeded due to the nationwide implementation of community quarantines, an additional 2.070 million might be added to the figure, bringing the total to 5.168 million—a 67-percent hike.
Based on the National Demographic Health Survey (NDHS) 2017, which revealed that about 1 out of 5 Filipinas take pills as their preferred modern family planning method.
The data also showed 66 percent of women ages 15 to 49 know that using condoms is a means of preventing HIV transmission. The survey also noted that for Filipinas, the pill is the most widely known contraception method followed by the male condom.
Health protocol
MEANWHILE, Confederate Sentinels of God (CSG) Inc. Founder Alvin Kyle de Jesus Constantino last Sunday urged community pantry organizers to prioritize basic health protocols above their good intentions.
During the online Lingkud Bayanihan weekly show, Constantino appealed to organizers to strictly observe the minimum health protocols to protect everyone against virus during such events.
“Let us think and plan out well our community pantry projects so we can truly help our less fortunate and suffering neighbors experiencing hunger because of the pandemic,” he said. “Let us not cause Covid-19 transmissions in our communities that can lead to the untimely deaths of our poor neighbors. I salute the hearts of community pantry organizers. Your hearts are similarly attuned to the hearts of our patriotic Filipino heroes of the past.”
Philippine Medical Association President Benito P. Atienza said a joint “Lingkud Bayanihan” caravan kicked off last Sunday at Hospital de San Jose Orphanage in Quiapo, Manila, for the distribution of food, relief goods and access to free online telemedicine services to the 450 children and elderly.
“We will continue to push for the Filipino bayanihan spirit, together with other partners,” Atienza said announcing the re-opening of the PMA auditorium at North Avenue, Quezon City to receive any donations in kind.
Leo Olarte, Bayanihan Frontliners Movement lawyer-president said in statement that their food and relief goods operations coupled with a free 24/7 online telemedicine service would roll out on a house-to-house basis nationwide to start in Metro Manila with help from the Department of Social Welfare and Development.