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Official Publication of the Philippine Information Agency Bicol Regional Office, in cooperation with the RIAC-REDIRAS - RDC Bicol



Wednesday, August 27, 2014

Albay to craft 3-year work plan for adolescent health development

By Sally Atento-Altea

LEGAZPI CITY, Aug 27 (PIA) –Members of the Albay inter-agency technical working group (TWG) on adolescent health and development of Albay met Tuesday to craft a three-year work plan for the Adolescent Youth Health Program (AYHP) of the province.

TWG co-chair and Albay provincial aids council focal person Mike dela Rama said the TWG is created to facilitate the formulation of local policy which will serve as the basis for comprehensive adolescent health master plan for the province.

The plan, according to de la Rama, will serve as the road map for agencies and institutions involved in adolescent-youth initiatives in the province.

“The primary purpose of the working group is to provide recommendation to the provincial government to establish a strong foundation to support the achievement of the adolescent council group; provide clear direction on specific activities, strategies, programs and policies for managing projects intended for the welfare and wellbeing of adolescent and the youth in the province,” he said.

 The AYHP work plan has three key strategies aimed at reducing teenage pregnancy which focus on governance or policy making, service delivery and strengthened communication with the adolescent youth.

“Strategies on governance include development of local government unit (LGU) – led, evidence-based, adolescent and youth inclusive, and participatory AYHP policy and plan development, implementation and monitoring and evaluation, “dela Rama said.

Service delivery refers to the adoption if holistic and integrated approach to prevent or delay early and second pregnancy among adolescent youth through post-partum family planning (FP) counseling and services and early referral and provision of maternal care and FP information and counseling among pregnant adolescents.

Strengthened communication on one hand involves dissemination and promotion of appropriate and culturally relevant information to promote healthy attitude and develop skills to enable them to respond to real life situations in positive and responsible ways.

“Adolescents receive contradictory messages on how to address the daily choices which have lifelong consequences for healthy development. Millions are denied the essential support they need to become knowledgeable, confident and skilled adults,” dela Rama stressed.

“Because of this reality there is an urgent need to come up with a framework designed to respond to the unmet needs of adolescents in the province. Thus the TWG was organized,” he added.

The inter-agency TWG on adolescent health and development of the province was organized through the executive order issued by Governor Joey Salceda dated January 10, 2014 in support to the policy of the Department of Health (DOH) to address major adolescent health problems due to an increasing health risky behavior among Filipino adolescent.

Such initiative is among the reproductive health interventions and education-based programs implemented by the provincial government in partnership with other private and public agencies.

The Albay Provincial Population Office has reported that the teenage pregnancy rate in the province dropped by eight percent from 1,700 cases in 2011 to 1,571 in 2012 further noting that Albay has one of the lowest teenage pregnancies in the country at only 24 births per 1,000 women aged between 15 and 19 versus a national rate of 53 births per 1,000 wimen aged 15 and 19.(SAA-PIA5/Albay)
- See more at: http://news.pia.gov.ph/index.php?article=2571409293247#sthash.Uo0f8vB6.dpuf

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