| Abstract: | In the Philippines, despite the conservative values of the population, factors brought about by increasing modernization encurage the youth to practice sex, although actual sexual behavior lags behinds attitudes. This is particlarly the case in Metropolitan Manila, the country's most urbanized region. In 1982, 4 of 10 live births were to women aged 15-24. There also are reports that births out of wedlock have increased in the past few years, with the biggest number of such births registered by women in the younger age groups. The magnitude of the problem causes concern among the policymakers, throughout the world, the Philippines included. The government and the private sector in the philippines have started to recognize the need to protect adolescents, particularly girls, from unplanned parenthood. Adolescent fertility programs in the Philippines and neighboring countries are relatively new and policymakers are working to strengthen them. Recently, the Commission on population (Popcom) organized the Youth and Premarriage Task Forces to address the specific needs and concerns of the youth. In line with this objective, private and government agencies have developed programs and projects for specific youth sectors which influence or may be influenced by adolescent secxuality norms. There are projects designed to suit the specific needs of in school youth, out of school youth, working youth, pregnnant unmarried women, and adolescent counselors. Some of these programs and projects are described. Similar to other projects, the adolescent fertility projects in the Philippines experience their share of problems and constrants, including shortage of trainers, lack of reliable data, inadequate supply of resource materials, and the need to strengthen government policy. In view of all this, a need exists to attract more people to train service providers who will attend to adolescents' information needs, ranging from common concerns like dating to more serious concerns like pregnancy. In a recent survey many service providers indicated that the were wary of providing contraceptive information and services to adolescents for 2 reasons: they believe these might promote sexual promiscuity among the married; and the fear they might be sued by irate parents. Coupled with the problem of lack of reliable data is the fact that few materials on sexually related materials have been developed in the philippines. Such local materials are needed for the benefit of both the youth and the service providers and counselors. |
