The Philippine population program: a stocktaking

Summarizes findings of the Special Committee to Review the Philippine Population Program, created by the Commission on Population to evaluate population related programs and recommend program directions for the future. The Committee conducted a 2 part study: an indepth review and analysis of existing policies and programs, evaluation of their effectiveness, and identification of organizational, statistical and policy or program related gaps and bottlenecks; and recommendations on policy and program thrusts for the next 5 years. Along with specific recommendations on program operations, service delivery, and research, the Committee made a number of important policy recommendations. Chief among these were a call for the development of a broader popultion policy, not focused only on growth but encompassing demographic, manpower, and welfare components; recognition of the need for the program to advocate an ideal family size and a desirable age for marriage; and redesign of the program on a broad scale to integrate it fully with national development plans.     

The Philippines: country statement prepared for the International Conference on Population,Mexico City,August 1984

This statement, prepared for the 1984 International Conference on Population, summarizes the demographic situation in the Philippines, the Philippine position regarding implementation of the World Population Plan of Action, and current population policies. In 1980, the population of the Philippines stood at 48.1 million. The country's current population growth rate reflects the interplay between decreasing mortality and still high but declining fertility. The 1984-87 Philippine Development Plan aims to achieve sustainable economic growth, equitable distribution of the gains of development, and personal development. A net reproduction rate of unity by the year 2000 is sought, and preschool-age children, youth, premarriage-age groups, and married couples of reproductive age have been targeted for special outreach efforts. The national population program will concentrate on developing a network of public and private community-based organizations, strengthening the capacity of local government and community organizations to plan and manage the population program, developing community capacity to finance family planning services, upgrading the quality of natural family planning practice, continuing the promotion of effective contraceptive methods, developing a population data bank, and upgrading the technical and management capabilities of population program personnel. Increasing attention is being paid to regional development and spatial distribution. The average annual population growth rate is expected to decline from 2.8% in 1970-75 to 2.2% by 1987. The crude birth rate is expected to drop from 34/1000 in 1980 to 31/1000 in 1987. To help achieve this goal, the contraceptive prevalence rate should increase from 34% in 1983 to 41% in 1987 and 50% by 1993. In addition, attempts will be made to reduce the proportion of women marrying below the age of 20 years and to improve women's access to educational and employment opportunities.     

The Population Program's Medium-Term Plan: a blueprint for welfare

The Population Program in the Philippines initially was preoccupied with the problem of fertility reduction. From 1981-85, the program will be carrying out a 5-year population plan which aims at the reduction of fertility as well as the broader goal of enhancing the well-being of the family and of society. Called the Medium Term Plan, this population plan began to evolve in January 1978 when President Marcos called for a comprehensive review of the population program in the context of the country's overall development plans. The Special Committee to Review the Philippine Population Program, worked from February to June 1978 and focused attention on the policy, program, and research components of the population program. They assessed the achievements of the program, analyzed its limitations, and recommended future policy and program thrusts. In performing its task, the committee observed the following guidelines: 1) the program must be evaluated by taking into account the overall development goals that are directly related to the population problem, 2) the program must be evaluated in its totality, 3) the concept of family planning must be redefined as family planning and welfare, 4) research must be recognized as a vital instrument for program formulation, and 5) the population program must be evaluated with an awareness of the role of financial and institutional support in its implementation. The committee's findings stressed the need to link family planning efforts with the rest of socioeconomic issues outlined in the government's 5-year development plan for 1978-82. The broad objective of the National Population Program is to reduce the population growth rate to levels that promote national welfare and individual well-being. Under the Medium Term Plan the population growth rate should be reduced from an estimated 2.3% to an estimated 2.0% in 1985. To achieve this objective, the program aims to raise the number and quality of protected couples, promote delayed marriage, promote internalization of the small family size norm, and study other development factors. 14 strategies and their objectives are outlined along with action steps.     

Full-time workers reach out to the villages

The Philippine Commission on Population (Popcom) has fielded 2721 fulltime outreach workers (FTOWs). The FTOWs are the outcome of a shift from a clinic-based, motivation-oriented family planning effort to the Rural Outreach Program which is part of the new Total Integrated Development Approach (TIDA). Organizationally, the workers are under local government supervision and their purpose is to make the family planning program more responsive to community needs. This article profiles the average FTOW, describes recruitment and training procedures and discusses problems of the program -- funding, transportation, inadequate training, lack of educational materials, shortage of contraceptive supplies -- and possible solutions.     

Philippines: decentralized approach shows results

In the Philippines several steps have been taken to meet the challenge of increasing population growth. Commencing with the Republic Act 6365, known as the Population Act (1971) program directives focus on achieving and maintaining population levels most conducive to the national welfare. In 1978 a Special Committee was constituted by the President to review the population program. Pursuant to the Committee's findings certain changes were adopted. The thrust is now towards longterm planning to ensure a more significant and perceptible demographic impact of development programs and policies. Increasing attention is paid to regional development and spatial distribution in the country. The 1978-82 Development Plan states more clearly the interaction between population and development. The National Economic and Development Authority, the central policy and planning agency of the government, takes charge of formulation and coordinating the broader aspects of population policy and integrating population with socioeconomic plans and policies. At present the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) is implementing a project known as the Population/Development Planning and Research (PDPR) project with financial support from the UN Fund for Population Activities (UNFPA). This project promotes and facilitates the integration of the population dimension in the planning process. It does this by maintaining linkages and instituting collaborative mechanisms with the different NEDA regional offices and sectoral ministries. It also trains government planners in ways of integrating population concerns into the development plan. PDPR promotes the use of population and development research for planning purposes and policy formation. The Philippine Development Plan, 1978-82, recognized that an improvement in the level of 1 sector reinforces the performance of the other sectors. Since the establishment of the National Population Program 12 years ago, population and family planning have been successfully integrated with various development sectors, notably, labor, health, and education. Through the policies of integration, multiagency participation, and partnership of the public and private sectors, the Commission on Population uses existing development programs of government and private organizations as vehicles for family planning information and services and shares the responsibility of implementing all facets of the population program with various participating agencies in the government and private sector.     

Redefining family planning programs

The Population Council's issue paper entitled Reconsidering the Rationale, Scope, and Quality of Family Planning Programs calls on family planning programs to focus only on reducing unwanted fertility by helping people meet their own reproductive goals safely and ethically. Many family planning programs have been wrongly handed the extra responsibility of reducing wanted fertility. They have therefore used inappropriate means (e.g., incentives, quotas, and coercion) to boost contraceptive prevalence. If programs do focus on reducing unwanted fertility, they will foster reductions in overall fertility and population growth as well as improvements in clients' health and well-being. A new framework has emerged from this shift in rationale. It sets the stage for expanding the scope, improving the quality, and assessing the impact of family planning programs in terms of client choice, health, and well-being. A program needs to determine the range and quality of family planning services it provides at the local level. Local program managers, policymakers, and consumer interest groups should establish minimum or achievable standards of service based on the local health care capacity. Program items that should be assessed include choice of methods, information for clients, technical competence, interpersonal relations, mechanisms to encourage continuity of care, and appropriate constellation of services. The Population Council has conducted rapid appraisals of the quality of care of family planning services to help local program managers to evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of their programs. The HARI (Helping Individuals Achieve their Reproductive Intentions) Index measures a program's success in helping clients safely prevent unwanted or unplanned pregnancy. Program managers can conduct a self-assessment that revolves around answering four questions. Family planning services are an important social investment and are essential to development.     

Understanding the population dimension in development planning

In the Philippines initial efforts to adopt population policies focused on reducing rapid population growth through fertility control. The history of the national population welfare congress, which started in 1978, reflects this emphasis on family planning as a major deterrent to rapid population growth. It was only in recent years that the 2-way relationship between population and development came to be better appreciated. The 6th National Populaton Welfare Congress was a response to this need to broaden the scope of population concerns and integrate the population dimension into development planning. This viewpoint regards population not as a demand variable but as a factor that can be influenced by economic and social development. Dr. Mercedes B. Concepcion, dean of the University of the Philippines Population Institute (UPPI), discussed population trends, prospects, and problems in a paper presented before the 6th congress. In 1980, she said, the Philippine population was 48.1 million persons, up by 11.4 million persons or 31%, over the3l.7 million enumerated in 1970. While the rate of populated growth remains high, data indicate a decreasing post-World War II trend, from 3.06% in 1948-60 to 2.68% in 1975-80. The proportion of the population below 15 has dropped by 2 percentage points, while the number of persons in the working ages 15-64 has increased. In 1 of the 3 group sessions during the congress, the participants tried to define the Philippines' population distribution goals, the requirement of an urban-rural balance, and priority intervention areas. In that session 2 main papers were presented -- one on human settlements and urbanization and the other on macroeconomic policies and their spatial implications. In another sessionplanners and researchers examined the socioeconomic and demographic impact of development programs, specifically the impact of rural electrification on fertility change in Misamis Oriental, a province in Southern Philippines. In the main paper presented in that session, Dr. Herrin indicated that the most rapid decline in marital fertility in the Philippines occurred among highly educated parents with high incomes and living in the urbanized areas of Metro Manila, Southern Luzon, and Central Luzon. The 3rd group session discussed mortality trends and prospects as well as the present forms of government intervention to reverse these trends. Generally, a declining trend has been observed in the crude death rate and in infant mortality.     

India: New family planning program direction outlined

The focus of the current Family Welfare Program in India is education and active community involvement rather than coercion and compulsion. The government is totally committed to the program and has indicated that it will spare no efforts to motivate people to voluntarily accept family planning. However, there is a need for family planning efforts to include all aspects of family welfare, particularly those designed to promote the health of mothers and children. All family planning methods will be made available, and the family will be free to choose the method they prefer. As part of the program, employees of the Union government, State governments, autonomous and local bodies are expected to set an example and adopt the small family norm. The policy statement made by Mr. Raj Narain, Minister of Health and Family Welfare, revealed the government's decision not to legislate, either at the national or the State level, for compulsory sterilization. Sterilization services will be available free of charge to those who voluntarily choose this method. A plan for training indigenous midwives will be implemented as part of the program in order that maternity services may be available to all expectant mothers. Additionally, in recognition of the direct correlation between illiteracy and fertility and between infant/maternal mortality and age at marriage, the government will introduce legislation to raise the minimum age at marriage to 18 years for girls and to 21 years for boys. The plan is for trade unions, Chambers of Commerce, cooperative societies, women's organizations, teachers' federation, district councils, and other voluntary institutions to be associated intimately with the educational campaign launching the Family Welfare Program.     

Why population matters

Population growth around the world affects Americans through its impact on the economy, the environment, and the world our children will inherit. This explains why population growth is important and why the U.S. government provides assistance (roughly $500 million annually, or $2 per American) for population programs in developing countries. These programs help couples to use family planning when they want to, thereby reducing birthrates, protecting the health of women, and strengthening families.     

Population growth,economic development and family planning

This report discusses research conducted to determine whether reduction in population growth rates contributed to the rapid economic growth of Indonesia, South Korea, Japan and Thailand. The 5-year research projects, jointly sponsored by the UN Fund for Population Activities, the Nihon University Population Research Institute, and the East-West Population Institute, concluded that development and family planning programs contributed substantially to fertility decline in these countries. The project examined 3 factors that influence the long-term productive capacity and growth of the 4 Asian economies: savings, the size of the labor force, and the quality of labor (measured by educational attainment). Available evidence indicates a strong positive contribution of population decline toward growth of savings, a growth in labor force concurrent with a decline in fertility rates which enables per capita income to rise, and an increase in 2ndary education enrollment ratios as fertility is lowered. Development factors by themselves explain no more than 1/2 of the decline in fertility observed, suggesting that family planning programs particularly in Thailand, South Korea and Indonesia since 1976 have had an important impact on fertility and economic development.     

The Filipino male as a target audience in family planning

Since the official launching of the Philippine Population Program in 1970, family planning campaigns have substantially addressed themselves to women. The suggestion to devote equal, if not more, attention to men as family planning targets had been raised by Dr. Mercado as early as 1971. It was not until 1978, that the deliberate inclusion of males as a target audience in family planning became a matter of policy. The Population Center Foundation (PCF), from 1979 to 1982, carried out research projects to determine the most suitable approaches and strategies to reach Filipino men. The objectives of the PCF's Male Specific Program are: 1) to test alternative schemes in promoting male family planning methods through pilot-testing of family planning clinics for men, 2) to develop teaching materials geared toward specific segments of the male population, 3) to undertake skills training in male-specific motivational approaches for program professionals, and 4) to assess the extent of the husband's role in family planning. An important finding of 1 study was that most outreach workers were female stood in the way of the motivation process, thus hampering the campaign. While the consultative motivational skills training improved knowledge, attitudes, and skills of outreach workers with regard to vasectomy and the motivation process, there were certain predispositions that were hindering the fieldworkers' effectiveness in motivating target clients. Overall, in-depth, 1-to-1 motivation in dealing with men is needed to strengthen internalization of family planning values.     

A look at Philippine population in the year 2000

The major subject areas explored by the University of the Population Institute were fertility, mortality, the Filipino family and nuptiality, migration and urbanization, and the structure and growth of the labor force. Data were extracted primarily from the Philippine Censuses (1903-1970) the National Demographic Surveys of 1968 and 1973, and special surveys conducted by the Institute research team. On the basis of the findings, a range of alternative population futures is projected for the year 2000, with their respective policy implications. The estimate of the crude birthrate for 1970 placed the range at between 39.3 and 42.7. The crude birthrate may have declined by 21-23% in the last 70 years, and by almost 13% in 1960-1970 alone. On the national level, fertility rates will continue to decline if the trend of delayed marriages continues. Fertility was found to decrease with the introduction of the positive socioeconomic factors that make some regions more developed than others. The present low levels of mortality have decreased its importance in relation to fertility. Mortality prospects can be improved by several policy actions which are presented here in the order of priority. Current evidence points strongly to an increase in the proportion of single individuals who delay marriage and those not planning to marry at all. The record of internal migration in the Philippines during the 20th century has been dominated by the phenomenon of urbanization, which increased from 13% in 1903 to 33% in 1970. An effort needs to be made to achieve greater rural-urban balance. The country's high population growth has increased the number of job seekers in recent years; the expansion of the regional labor force in the 1960-1970 decade was highly correlated with the growth of regional populations. Fertility, mortality, nuptiality, migration, and urbanization are the major factors determining the growth and structure of Philippine population. Alternative projections for each of these factors were combined in different ways and 3 alternative scenarios for population in the year 2000 are presented.     

China's population policy: A model of a constant stream of births

The current population policy of China, which emphasizes one child per family, is facing considerable challenge brought about by socioeconomic reforms. The principal challenge is greater individual freedom created by the reforms. The present article examines this conflict.Based on cohort-period fertility analysis, the author proposes a policy of a constand stream of births which ensures a moderate growth rate and a smooth age structure while enabling each couple to have at least two children. Simulation suggests that, in order to achieve the two goals of limiting population size (to about 1.2 billion in 2000 and 1.4 billion in the 2050s) and allowing more individual fertility choice (2.2 children per family), the annual stream of births should be around 20 million and the mean age of childbearing has to increase from 26 to 30 over the next 10–15 years.The author concludes that, if the policy proposed here succeeds, some social and economic problems associated with the conflict between the reforms initiated by the government and its one-child policy will be mitigated.Paper presented at the 1989 meeting of the Population Association of America.     

1980 ASEAN programme roundup: a model in the making

Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) experts and heads of national population programs held their 4th meeting in Singapore from November 24-28, 1980. Program heads resolved to take steps to link their national activities in the population field with those of the ASEAN Population Program and carry out studies and a joint programming exercise in 1981. Progress reports on the following Phase 1 projects were given: 1) integration of population and rural development policies and programs in ASEAN countries including Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, and Thailand; 2) development of an inter-country modular training program for personnel in population and rural development; 3) multi-media support for population programs in the context of rural development in ASEAN countries; 4) utilization of research findings in population and family planning for policy formulation and program management in ASEAN countries; and 5) migration in relation to rural development. Phase 2 projects approved by ASEAN country participants were also discussed: 1) institutional development and exchange of personnel, 2) women in development, 3) developing and strengthening national population information systems and networks in ASEAN countries, 4) population and development dynamics and the man/resource balance, 5) studies on health and family planning in ASEAN countries, 6) population migration movement and development, and 7) development of ASEAN social indicators.     

From Bucharest to Mexico: a decade of changing perceptions

The 2nd International Conference on Population held in Mexico City in 1984 had 3 main objectives: 1) to adopt the plan to changing demographic situations, 2) to enlarge the plan's scope so it can consider new views that have emerged since Bucharest, and 3) to reinforce the plan's operational aspects so that the plan can be applied more effectively. The Mexico conference had significant differences with the Bucharest gathering: 1) greater participation of developing countries, 2) clarification of the role of population and family planning in development, and 3) recognition of the status of women in development. Governments of many developing countries argue that they cannot wait for their countries to modernize sufficiently enough to stabilize their population levels. Participants in the Mexico conference agreed that family planning programs have been successful in reducing fertility at relatively low cost. The goal of a development-oriented population policy is to improve the people's standard of living by lowering fertility rates, improving health conditions and life expectancy, improving population distribution, and adopting sound economic policies. The overall objective of population policy should not be confined only to growth, distribution, and other demographic aspects; it is imperative that human life and human dignity be upheld.     

Basic policies of the Philippine Population Program

This history of the Philippine Population Commission, which was created in 1969, is summarized. In 1970 President F.E. Marcos defined the government's task in this area as: 1) educating the people on the urgent need for population control; 2) disseminating knowledge on birth control techniques; and 3) providing facilities, especially in rural areas. Funding began in 1971. The 4 basic policies are noncoercion, integration, multiagency participation, and the partnership of the public and private sectors. The noncoercion policy means that all birth control techniques are offered and couples are free to use or reject whatever they wish. This has probably slowed the spread of family planning, but has also minimized opposition. Family planning has never been the domain of 1 agency but has been implemented through many agencies working together. Now it is being implemented through total community development plans, of which family planning is merely 1 component. This approach puts irrigation workers, agricultural development workers, and many others on the family planning team. private agencies have also had an important role to play in the development of the total program. For the past 5 years these have been mainly voluntary sociocivic and health associations whose interests are very close to or naturally related to family planning. Now the entry of business into the Population Program through the commercial contraceptive marketing program has enlarged the role of the private sector in the diffusion of family planning products and services. It is possible that the partnership between the public and private sectors may soon be based on segmentation of the target population with government agencies going deep into rural areas while private organizations concentrate on urban and adjacent rural areas.     

Prospects for fertility reduction and projections for future population growth in Kenya

In 1979 Kenya's annual rate of natural population growth was 3.8%. Data from the1989 Kenya Demographic and Health Survey indicate that significant decreases in fertility levels were experienced during the 1980s. Factors associated with conditions supportive of high fertility in Kenya are discussed, and progress toward attaining significant fertility reduction thresholds during the 1980s is assessed. Findings from recent fertility surveys are presented, and 1969–1989 national level family planning data are evaluated. Four population projections for 1985–2025 are presented and analyzed. One projection is based on official government growth targets; two are based on estimates provided by the United Nations and the Population Reference Bureau, and a fourth projection is based on the assumption that Kenya will attain an annual natural population growth rate of less than 1% by the year 2025. Each projection assumes that fertility declines will be experienced. Kenya's prospects for reducing the annual population growth rate to 1% within the next sixty years and a cost-sharing development policy are addressed briefly in the concluding section. Recent data suggest that Kenya will probably not complete the demographic transition before the year 2050, but Kenya should continue to move through the transition stage.     

Fertility and eugenics: Singapore's population policies

Singapore, after serving for two decades as a model for Third World birth control and economic development programs, is now abandoning its earlier population policies in favor of encouraging dramatic population growth. The initial eugenics-based program introduced in 1984 sought increased fertility for university-educated women and provided major subsidies for the voluntary sterilization of poor and uneducated parents. These much publicized and internationally discussed programs have now been abandoned in favor of new population programs seeking to encourage fertility in lower as well as better educated groups. A forty percent population increase is being set as a goal. To accomplish this the effective Singapore Family Planning and Population Board has been abolished and Housing Development Board policies are in the process of being reversed to encourage rather than discourage fertility.The research reported here was partially funded by the Rockefeller Foundation and by a grant from the Population Council's International Research Awards Program on the Determinants of Fertility in Developing Countries, a program funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development.     

After the demographic transition: policy responses to low fertility in four Asian countries

In the low fertility countries of South Korea, Taiwan, Singapore, and Thailand, policy-makers are concerned about the consequences of low growth. In South Korea, a family planning (FP) program was instituted in the early 1960s, and fertility declined to 1.6 by 1987. Rural fertility is still higher at 1.96, and abortion rates are high. 32.2% of fertility reduction is accomplished through abortion. South Korean population will not stabilize until 2021, at 50.6 million people. The elderly are expected to increase and strain housing, energy, and land resources. Government support for FP is being reduced, while private sector services are being enhanced. Government sterilization programs have been reduced significantly, and revisions in the Medical Insurance Law will cover part of contraceptive cost. Integrated services are being established. Many argue for an emphasis on birth spacing, child and family development, sex education, and care of the elderly. In Taiwan, replacement level fertility was reached in 1983. Policy in 1992 recommended increasing fertility from 1.6 to 2.1. The aim was to stabilize population without pronatalist interventions. Regardless of policy decisions, population growth will continue over the next 40 years, and the extent of aging will increase. In Singapore since the 1960s, the national government focused on encouraging small families through fertility incentives, mass media campaigns, and easy access to FP services. Fertility declined to 1.4 in 1988. Since 1983, government has established a variety of pronatalist incentives. In 1989, fertility increased to 1.8. The pronatalist shift is viewed as not likely to succeed in dealing with the concern for an adequate work force to support the elderly and economic development. In Thailand, fertility declined the fastest to 2.4 in 1993. The key factors were rapid economic and social development, a supportive cultural setting, strong demand for fertility control, and a successful FP program. The goal is to reduce fertility to 1.2 by 1996. Replacement level may be reached in 2000 or 2005. Future trends are not clear.     

Cagayan de Oro taps own resources to cope with population problem

In 1972, the Model City Population Planning Project (MCPPP) was begun in the Philippine city of Cagayan de Oro. The MCPPP was an attempt to encourage family planning on the community level. Funding was provided by the Ford Foundation for the program in 1974, for 2 years. There were 5 main objectives of the program: to provide family planning information to parents, to test small scale projects which could be applied elsewhere in the country, to actively involve local government, to reduce the birthrate, and to facilitate, coordinate and strengthen population and family planning services of the different agencies of Cagayan de Oro. While the MCPPP's efforts to reduce the birth rate were mostly concerned with coordinating and facilitating prexisting family planning services, evaluators of the project credit it at least partially, for the cities' declining birthrate. In 1971, the birthrate was 36.5 per 1,000 and in 1975, it had dropped to 29 per 1,000. In mid 1976 the program was incorporated into the nationwide Outreach Program. Although some evaluators felt that private citizens were not sufficiently involved with it, the program has been judged successful in demonstrating a city's capacity to work toward solving it's own problems. Particularly successful were efforts at educating the population and dissemination of family planning information.