REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE

Youth are more susceptible to sexual and reproductive illness as they enter adolescence

and the maturity stage and start to be sexually active. Youth risk unwanted pregnancies and

STDs (Sexually Transmitted Diseases) like HIV (Human Immunodeficiency Virus). HIV and

AIDS cases are quickly ascending including among the adolescent population. Because of this, it

is relevant to support and monitor adolescents’ sexual and reproductive health. Therefore, it is

essential to promote the knowledge of adolescents’ rights as a defense for their reproductive

health and the availability of contraception (Neinaber, 2014).

Teenagers in the Philippines often encounter numerous social, socio-political, and legal

impediments in attempting to access sexual and reproductive health care services which places

them at a heightened risk for unintended pregnancies, miscarriages, abortions, STDs, HIV,

AIDS, and other reproductive health concerns and issues (Melgar, J.L.D., et al., 2018).

Adolescents have a rudimentary understanding and access to resources regarding their

sexual and reproductive health in the Philippines, where teenagers and youth reproductive health

is a major highlight concern. According to the 2013 Young Adult Fertility and Sexuality Study,

just 27% of Filipino Youth assume they know enough about intimacy and sex, and only 15% can

accurately pinpoint and identify when conception is most likely to occur during a woman’s

menstrual cycle. Furthermore, the Philippine Adolescent Fertility Rate is the second highest in

Southeast Asia and was the only Southeast Asian Country with an increased adolescent fertility

rate respectively between 2011 to 2014 (Marco, M.J., et al., 2020).

 Youths’ preferences and rights to sexual and reproductive health care have been

emphasized yet neglected amidst the COVID-19 Pandemic. Whilst the Department of Health

(DOH) has ascertained supplementary contraception and birth control options and sexual and

reproductive health data as indispensable life-saving peripherals, they are not ubiquitously

implemented as essential requirements of both national and local COVID-19 responses. Mobility

and transportation prohibition and restrictions, as well as structured health protocols, have made

it difficult for teenagers to access family planning programs and services, and commodities

available in their health facilities such as rural health units and barangay health centers.

Therefore, access to sexual and reproductive health care services is essential and a critical issue

that should be responded to immediately (De Castro-Villa, C., 2021).

 References

De Castro-Villa, C. (2021). Ensuring access to sexual and reproductive health care starts with

robust data. Oxfam Philippines. Retrieved from https://philippines.oxfam.org/

latest/blogs/ensuring-access-sexual-and-reproductive-health-care-starts-robust-data

Marco, M.J., Tarroja, M.C., Bernades, J.M.A., & Lapena, M.A. (2020). Improving reproductive

health and family planning outcomes among out-of-school adolescents and youth in the

Philippines. Programmatic Research Brief. Retrieved from

https://doi.org/10.31899/pgy17.1033 

Melgar, J. L. D., Melgar, A. R., Festin, M. P. R., Hoopes, A. J., & Chandra-Mouli, V. (2018).

Assessment of country policies affecting reproductive health for adolescents in the

Philippines. Reproductive Health, 15(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12978-018-0638-9

Nienaber, G. (2014). Female adolescents’ reproductive health rights : access to contraceptive

information and services in Nigeria and South Africa. Retrieved from

https://repository.up.ac.za/handle/2263/46234