POPCOM.GOV.PHA PHILIPPINE senator called for local government units (LGUs) to double their efforts to curb rampant teenage pregnancy and the rise in cases of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV).
“We have to also focus on getting the parents more involved, not just by meeting them regularly but by really mobilizing them,” Senator Sherwin T. Gatchalian said in a statement.
“When we mobilize the parents, we make them aware of these issues and empower them by educating them on how to talk to their kids.”
Based on data from the local statistics agency, young mothers or very young Filipinos aged 10-14 doubled to 3,342 in 2023 from 1,629 a decade earlier.
The Department of Health said in December HIV cases in the Philippines would likely rise to 215,400 by the end of 2024, citing 4,595 confirmed cases from July to September 2024 alone.
Of the confirmed cases from July to September 2024, 1,301 or 28% had an advanced HIV infection at the time of diagnosis, based on Health department data.
The Senate is in the middle of scrutinizing the Department of Education’s implementation of sexual education amid concerns from conservative quarters. — John Victor D. Ordoñez
