PopCom Celebrates World Population Day

● The commission’s programs aim to help adolescents and youth understand their sexuality, avoid risky sexual behavior, reduce teenage pregnancies, early marriages, sexually transmitted infections.

The Commission on Population Regional Office (PopCom) 7 commemorates World Population Day on July 11, 2014 with the theme “Investing in Young People.”

PopCom 7 said that to celebrate this occasion, they will hold a forum which will focus on the crucial role of the young people being the majority of the country’s population and the support they need to attain their fullest potentials as individuals.

PopCom7 Information Officer Sheryl Mary N. Villarta-Yday said the event on July 11, 2014, will be held at Ramon Duterte Memorial National High School in Guadalupe, Cebu City at 1 pm.

She said this will be attended by partners and stakeholders in the promotion of Adolescent Health and Youth Development (AHYD).

Attendees will share their expertise and experiences in their advocacy and contributions to the advancement of adolescents and youth.

Yday said that as a back-to-back activity for the students, the regional office will also hold film showing and interactive activities that addresses issues and concerns of the youth.

The program on Adolescent Health and Youth Development (AHYD) is one of the three component programs of the Philippine Population Management Program (PPMP), Yday said.

“The thrust is to help adolescents and youth understand their sexuality, avoid risky sexual behavior, reduce teenage pregnancies, early marriages, sexually transmitted infections and develop the right values to help them make responsible decisions to prepare them for responsible adulthood and a fully productive life,” she said.

PopCom 7 has already conducted several orientations on AHYD around the region in partnership with the local government and health units. It also organized a regional network of youth peer educators, Yday said.

Yday said the commission’s latest advocacy campaign which aims to provide critical information to Filipino teens is the U4U (You-for-You), a Youth Hub Initiative which will be launched by PopCom in August of this year.

The information officer said that U4U can be utilized through its online portal (www.u4u.ph); social media accounts such as Facebook, Youtube and Twitter; and even in an interactive voice responsive system just by easily sending a text message to assigned U4U phone numbers..

Image Credit: 101xsx.com