Equipping Youth, Teen Parents with Life Hacks Towards Nation Building

“Being a teenage mom does not limit your ability to do something beneficial to yourself, to your child, to your family, or to your community,” said Department of Health (DOH) Cordillera OIC Director Dr. Amelita Pangilinan at the Am-among for Health: Adolescent Edition held from November 13-14 here.

Cordillera youth and teen moms learned various reproductive health tips and life skills during the DOH-led adolescent health congress which aims to provide a venue to develop the youth, especially young parents, to become healthy and empowered citizens.

The Am-among for Health: Adolescent Edition, with the theme “Cordilleran Generation Z: Defenders for Reproductive Health”, featured different topics on self-awareness and values, responsible parenthood, adolescent life skills, disaster risk reduction and management, and career and employment, among others.

Part of the activity was sharing of stories and discussion among the participants on their experiences as adolescents and young parents.

Teen Mom and Outstanding Student of the Cordillera Administrative Region (OSCAR) 2018 Racelle Velilia enjoined fellow young parents to work hard towards a more comfortable life for their family and children.

“You are more capable than before because now you embrace an extraordinary kind of strength,” Velilia said.

From 2013-2015, the Cordillera had been consistently among the topnotchers in terms of high prevalence of teenage pregnancy nationwide.

In the recent 2017 survey, the prevalence of teenage pregnancy in the region decreased registering the least percentage of women aged 15 to 19 years old who have begun childbearing.

Even with the declining prevalence of teenage pregnancy, Regional Coordinator of Health and Development Program Vincent Ingen said there is still a need for local government units to intensify adolescent health information and education campaign, strengthen their technical working group on adolescent and youth welfare, and have adolescent health services in their health centers.

Ingen also shared plans of having provincial adolescent health fora to cater to more youth and teenage parents in the various provinces of the Cordillera. (JDP/JJPM-PIA CAR)