Govt to focus on Normin girls as it steps up population campaign

THE Commission on Population (Popcom) is stepping up its campaign in keeping the effects of overpopulation in northern Mindanao at bay by zeroing in on teenage girls.

In a press statement, Popcom regional director Jeremias Gupit enjoined the Commission’s provincial and city population officers to implement various “adolescent health and youth development” activities this year.

Gupit said the activities should be designed to educate teenagers, with a special focus on girls, on healthy lifestyle and responsible sexuality to mitigate the incidence of teenage pregnancy, sexually trasmitted diseases, drug alcohol abuse.

“Participants and beneficiaries of youth programs are primarily male, sometimes by as much as 80 percent to 90 percent which means girls are being left behind,” Gupit said.

Gupit based his figures on a 2010 research by the Philippine Population Census which showed that of the 957,474 adolescents between the ages 10 to 19 in the region, 468,952 were female.

To date, Gupit said Adolescent Sexuality and Reproductive Health classes have been conducted in public high schools across northern Mindanao. The provinces of Misamis Oriental, Misamis Occidental, Bukidnon, Camiguin, and Lanao del Norte comprise Region 10.

“The conduct of inter-school independent film-making contests and festivals are being sustained, and financial and technical support to eight Teen Centers have been provided,” reads part of the statement.

A recent report of the United Nations Population Fund disclosed that investing in girls is the single most powerful investment for development.

“Fulfilling the rights of adolescent girls to health, education, and protection from violence and abuse–ensures their chance to achieve physical, emotional, and social potential, and can go on to become empowered women who can support their families, communities, and countries,” part of the UNFPA report reads.