To curb teenage pregnancy in the country, schools should include Adolescent Sexual and Reproductive Health in the elementary level curriculum, according to officials of the National Youth Commission.

While the controversial RH bill still hangs at the Senate, programs to address teenage pregnancy must already be implemented especially in the regional level, said NYC Commissioner Percival Cerdana during the 1st national convention of Regional Youth Advisory Councils which formally opened yesterday, Dec. 3, 2012 at Amigo Plaza Hotel.

According to the 2010 data from the National Statistics Office, there are 206,574 teenage pregnancy cases among 15- to 19-year-olds nationwide, Cerdana said.

The NSO data also showed that there are 1,324 cases of pregnancy among children aged 14 and below.

Though still waiting for a consolidated data for 2012 from the Department of Health and NSO, Cerdana said that about 10 percent of the deliveries in the country involved women aged 19 and below.

Cerdana said that RH education at an early age “will help the child make the right decision.”

However, only the body’s development should be given focus during this stage, he said.

OPEN COMMUNICATION LINES

Meanwhile, NYC Chairman Leon Flores III said, parents should open their communication lines with their children especially on issues like reproductive health.

He said, one out of three Filipinos belong to the youth bracket; that’s about 27 million of the population.

Thus, Flores said the youth should participate in governance.

Meanwhile, the convention aims to create policies and guidelines for youth empowerment as well as the mainstreaming of the newly crafted Philippine Youth Development Plan from 2012 to 2016, Flores said.

The PYDP focused on enabling youth participation in policy making, encouraging the youth to contribute to achieving the Millennium Development Goal for 2015 and the standardization of the delivery of services for the youth, he added.

The activity convenes more than 300 youth leaders and representatives from 17 regions and line agencies like the Department of Education, Commission on Higher Education, Department of Social Welfare and Development, Department of Labor and Employment, Department of Interior and Local Government and Department of Health among others.*