Canada vs the Church in aid program for Filipinas

Canada will be pumping $17.5 million to empower women and girls in the Philippines access sexual and reproductive health information and services against a backdrop of strong opposition from the Southeast Asian nation’s powerful Catholic Church.

The Sexual Health and Empowerment (SHE) project will help at least 85,000 people across 13 provinces in the Philippines, a press statement said.

The Philippines, a deeply devout country where abortion is illegal, and a lack of knowledge about modern family planning methods mean that birth control isn't widely used.

Historically, teen pregnancy rates have held steady in the Philippines while declining elsewhere in Asia, according to the United Nations Population Fund.

According to the 2017 national survey, 28% of young married women in the Philippines said they aren't getting the birth control they need. For unmarried sexually active women, almost half say they don't have access to contraception.

In 2014, after a 14-year battle with the Catholic Church and anti-abortion groups, the Philippines passed a reproductive health law that mandated universal access to birth control and more reproductive health education, with a goal of reducing the country's birth rate.

Legal challenges slowed the law's full implementation until late in 2017 when the country's Food and Drug Administration lifted a temporary Supreme Court court order banning 51 types of contraceptives by ruling that they did not induce abortion.

Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte has also pushed for more birth control to be made available for the poor, and last year signed an executive order calling for extra funds and support.

However, the fight for access to adequate family planning in the Philippines continues with no shortage of vicious rhetoric with Duterte being labeled a “modern-day Herod” and the Catholic church adhering to its declaratory motto: “contraception is corruption”.

Oxfam in the Philippines Country Director Maria Rosario Felizco said the SHE project will address the barriers that prevent people, especially women and girls, from exercising their sexual and reproductive health and rights.

Felizco said these barriers include gender inequality, sex trafficking, low access to SRHR information and services, sexual and gender-based violence, and a range of discriminatory socio-cultural practices.

“Sexual health and reproductive rights remain among the most contentious global health issues. We have a role to play in that battle in the Philippines and around the world,” Felizco said during the launch.

Data from the 2017 National Demographic and Health Survey showed that 9.7 million girls aged 10 to 19 in the Philippines will most likely be mothers by age 19.

The same survey also showed that the teenage pregnancy rate in the country is considered the highest in Southeast Asia. This resulted to a higher mortality rate at 114 deaths per 100,000 live births.

Felizco said many of these deaths were due to complications from pregnancy and childbirth, which could be avoided.

Canada’s Ambassador to the Philippines John Holmes said ensuring the sexual and reproductive health and realizing the rights of women and girls is critical in achieving equitable and sustainable development.

“The SHE project is one initiative that supports Canada’s commitment to empowering women and girls and reflects our government’s feminist international assistance policy. It is also well aligned with the priorities of the Philippine government and will contribute to the full implementation of the Responsible Parenthood and Reproductive (RPRH) Law,” Holmes said in his speech.

The five-year project will also strengthen health systems and community structures to improve the delivery of quality and gender-sensitive health services. It will also build the capacity of women’s organizations and networks to advocate for the rights of women at all levels and prevent gender-based violence.

The SHE project has a total budget of 18.2 million CAD (PHP747.5 million) with 17.5 million CAD (PHP718.3 million) from Global Affairs Canada and 730,000 CAD (PHP29.9 million) from Oxfam.