By POPCOM IV-CALABARZON August 9, 2020 With the continuous battling against the COVID-19 and with the series of community quaranti...
August 9, 2020
With the continuous battling against the COVID-19 and with the series of community quarantines in the provinces of CALABARZON, the Commission on Population and Development (POPCOM) Region IV-A CALABARZON has opened POPCOM COVID-19 Helpline.
The POPCOM COVID-19 Helpline supports the public as it caters any issues and concerns related to Responsible Parenthood and Family Planning (RPFP), Adolescent Health and Development (AHD), and Gender-Based Violence (GBV). The public can contact agency’s official helpline numbers: 0917-1100499 for RPFP concerns; 0917-1227434 for AHD concerns; and 0917-1468825 for GBV or the public can also contact the agency through messenger via POPCOM CALABARZON’s official Facebook page (fb.com/POPCOM4CALABARZON) every day.
The implementation of community quarantines limit the movement of people from one place to another, thus home quarantine is a safety precautionary measure for the spread of the virus among individuals. However, the impact of the said quarantine interrupts the access and delivery of family planning (FP) information and services. Likewise, it may also increases the frequency of violence against vulnerable population as well as facilitates longer exposure of adolescents to misinformation about their sexuality.
“The community quarantine being implemented regionwide made it difficult for couples and individuals to access family planning services from health centers which may cause to unintended pregnancies and higher unmet need for modern FP,” POPCOM-CALABARZON Regional Director Angelito S. Obcena said.
RD Obcena added that women and children are vulnerable to verbal, physical, and even emotional abuse.
Based on the 2017 National Demographic and Health Survey, CALABARZON region has 16.2 percent of women aged 15-49 have experienced physical violence, whereas 3.3 percent have experienced sexual violence. Consequently, POPCOM has joined forces with other national government agencies in improving the welfare of these victims by calling all duty bearers to institute mechanisms to prevent gender-based violence during this public health crisis.
Most of the young people are now on the online platform as a new learning modality. With the on-going community quarantine adolescents have increased the time exposure to internet that discloses them to misinformation on reproductive health and their sexuality.
With the POPCOM COVID-19 Helpline, the agency aims to assist the community health centers and its health service providers in ensuring that FP information is still within the reach as well as commodities will be provided to those in need. POPCOM also intends to provide first line of assistance and support through provision of age-appropriate health information and referral to social protection services. (PIA-4A/POPCOM IV-CALABARZON)
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