Since the Temporary Restraining Order (TRO) on Contraceptives was lifted in November 2017, service provision for Progestin-only Subdermal Implants (PSIs) has been accelerated. During the first semester of 2019, 858 women were provided with implants as their method of choice for delaying the pregnancy or limiting the number of children.
POPCOM R10 Director Jeremias C. Gupit requested additional stocks of implant from DOH Region 11 as stocks in Region 10 have already run out due to the increased demands for the service. The commodities that arrived from Davao were used during the outreach program in the different municipalities of Misamis Occidental, Misamis Oriental, and Bukidnon. POPCOM FP outreach team was able to consume all of the PSIs given by DOH Region 11 prior to its expiration on June, with the last batch used last May 31, 2019 during the PSI insertion to 46 clients in Claveria, Misamis Oriental.
It is to be stressed that the partnership between POPCOM and DOH has become even stronger with the signing of the Joint Memorandum Circular on National Program on Population and Family Planning (NPPFP) which mandates the two agencies to co-manage the family planning and population programs. Through this memorandum, Contraceptive Prevalence Rate (CPR) is expected to rise because of the strengthened mobilization and engagement with LGUs, CSOs, and other partner organizations for demand generation activities and service provision in the region.
To date, the demand generation and service delivery activities of POPCOM FP outreach team still continue as more and more LGUs request for it to be conducted to their community. To ensure smooth implementation of the Responsible Parenthood and Family Planning Program in Northern Mindanao, POPCOM R10 coordinates closely with the Department of Health (DOH) 10 for the commodities not only PSI but pills, injectables, and IUDs as well.
As always, POPCOM R10 hopes to address the unmet need of women for modern family planning as a way of empowering Filipino families in the community, this time, by mobilizing its own highly trained staff, which aside from engaging in demand generation, is now into providing direct family planning services, the only region in the country to do so, in partnership with DOH and the LGUs.
