Vision

For Filipino women and men achieve their desired family size and fulfill the reproductive health and rights for all through universal access to quality family planning information and services.

Mission

In line with the Department of Health FOURmula One Plus strategy and Universal Health Care framework, the National Family Planning Program is committed to provide responsive policy direction and ensure access of Filipinos to medically safe, legal, non-abortifacient, effective, and culturally acceptable modern family planning (FP) methods.

Objectives

1. To increase modern Contraceptive Prevalence Rate (mCPR) among all women from 24.9% in 2017 to 30% by 2022
2. To reduce the unmet need for modern family planning from 10.8% in 2017 to 8% by 2022

Program Components

Component A: Provision of free FP Commodities that are medically safe, legal, non-abortifacient, effective and culturally acceptable to all in need of the FP service:

• Forecasting of FP commodity requirements for the country
• Procurement of FP commodities and its ancillary supplies
• Strengthening of the supply chain management in FP and ensuring of adequate FP supply at the service delivery points

Component B: Demand Generation through Community-based Management Information System:

• Identification and profiling of current FP users and identification of potential FP clients and those with unmet need for FP (permanent or temporary methods)
• Mainstreaming FP in the regions with high unmet need for FP
• Development and dissemination of Information, Education Communication materials
• Advocacy and social mobilization for FP

Component C: Family Planning in Hospitals and other Health Facilities

• Establishment of FP service package in hospitals
• Organization of FP Itinerant team for outreach missions
• Delivery of FP services by hospitals to the poor communities especially Geographically Isolated and Disadvantaged Areas (GIDAs):
• Provision of budget support to operations by the itinerant teams including logistics and medical supplies needed for voluntary surgical sterilization services
• FP services as part of medical and surgical missions of the hospital
• Partnership with LGU hospitals for the FP outreach missions

Component D: Financial Security in FP

• Strengthening PhilHealth benefit packages for F
• Expansion of PhilHealth coverage to include health centers providing No Scalpel Vasectomy and FP Itinerant Teams
• Expansion of Philhealth benefit package to include pills, injectables and IUD
• Social Marketing of contraceptives and FP services by the partner NGOs
• National Funding/Subsidy

Partner Institutions

• Local Government Units
• Civil Society Organizations
• Non-Government Organizations
• Private Sector
• Faith-based Organizations
• Development Partners

Policies and Laws

1. Republic Act No. 10354: Responsible Parenthood and Reproductive Health Act of 2012 (RPRH Law)
2. Executive Order No. 12, s. 2017: Attaining and Sustaining “Zero Unmet Need for Modern Family Planning” Through the Strict Implementation of the Responsible Parenthood and Reproductive Health Act, Providing Funds Therefor, and for other Purposes
3. Administrative Order 2017-0005: Guidelines in Achieving Desired Family Size through Accelerated and Sustained Reduction in Unmet Need for Modern Family Planning Methods
4. Administrative Order 2016-0005: National Policy on the Minimum Initial Service Package (MISP) for Sexual and Reproductive Health (SRH) in Emergencies and Disasters
5. Administrative Order 2017-0002: Guidelines on the Certification of Free Standing Family Planning Clinics
6. Department Order 2017-0345: Guidelines on the Forecasting, Procurement, Allocation and Distribution of Modern Family Planning Commodities
7. Administrative Order 2015-0006: Inclusion of Progestin Subdermal Implant as One of the Modern Methods Recognized by the National Family Planning Program.
8. Administrative Order 2014-0042: Guidelines on the Implementation of Mobile Outreach Services for Family Planning
9. Department Memorandum 2015-0384: Establishment of the Family Planning Logistics Hotline

Strategies, Action Points and Timeline

Apart from the routine means of FP service delivery, the National Family Planning Program also employs the following main strategies to ensure universal access to FP:

1. FP Outreach Mission – this maximizes opportunities where clients are and FP services are delivered down to the community level.
2. FP in hospitals – this address missed opportunities where women especially those who recently gave birth are offered with appropriate FP services.
3. Intensive Demand generation through house-to-house visits by the community health volunteers, Family Development Sessions, Usapan sessions, among others

Program Accomplishments/Status

The passage of the RPRH Law in 2012 is considered as a landmark legislation in the country’s law-making history, and has laid down the legislative foundation in achieving reproductive health and rights of all Filipinos towards better health outcomes and socioeconomic growth.
The 0-10 Point Socioeconomic Agenda of the current administration, President Rodrigo Duterte, acknowledged the full implementation of the RPRH Law as an essential policy measure in achieving the targets set by the Philippines in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) 2030 and Ambisyon Natin (Our Ambition) 2040.

As a result, President Duterte issued an Executive Order (EO) No. 12, entitled Attaining and sustaining “Zero Unmet Need for Modern Family Planning” through the strict implementation of the Responsible Parenthood and Reproductive Health Act, providing funds therefor, and for other purposes in January of 2017. The Order intensifies and accelerates the implementation of critical actions necessary to address the unmet need of Filipinos for modern family planning (mFP). The Order also directs all executive agencies to allocate resources and solicits support in this initiative. The Department of Health (DOH), as the lead agency, issued an operational guideline for the said Order. The guideline provides direction and strategies to accelerate and sustain reduction in unmet need for mFP, and eventually attain the Filipinos’ desired family size especially among the poor and marginalized.

In the first six months of the EO No. 12 implementation, a total of 610,998 women were reached and identified to have unmet need for mFP, of which 356,460 accepted the FP service. The succeeding report of the EO No. 12 was incorporated in the annual Responsible Parenthood and Reproductive Health (RPRH) Accomplishment Report that was submitted in April 2018.

In 2017, the Philippine Development Plan (PDP) 2017-2022 was formally introduced. The PDP is the country’s medium-term plan geared towards achieving SDG and Ambisyon Natin. The Family Planning was identified as a pivotal intervention in realizing the country’s demographic dividend.

One of the major highlights in 2017 is the lifting of the Supreme Court’s Temporary Restraining Order (TRO) to the DOH and Food and Drug Administration (FDA), particularly the DOH from utilizing its progestin subdermal implant supplies – Implanon and Implanon NXT, and the FDA from issuing certificates of product registration of contraceptives. The TRO was lifted on Nov. 10, 2017 when the DOH promulgated the revised Implementing Rules and Regulations of the RPRH Law, and the FDA re-certified all 51 contraceptive products to be non-abortifacient, including the subdermal implants – Implanon and Implanon NXT.

Calendar of Activities

Cherylle G. Gavino, MD, MPM-HSD
OIC, Director III
Adolescent and Maternal Health Division
Disease Prevention and Control Bureau, Department of Health
Weekdays, 8:00 AM-5:00 PM @ DOH Trunkline 651-7800 loc. 1751
email address: [email protected]
——