The Forum for Family Planning and Development, Inc. continued to adapt its advocacy efforts despite the shrinking spaces for civil society organizations due to shift of national and local governments’ focus to COVID-19 response. Adapting to the challenges of working across online and hybrid spaces to fulfil the organization’s mission, in 2021 we continued our local advocacy in the Province of Albay and Cebu’s Tri-cities; Lapu-Lapu City, Mandaue City, and Cebu City.

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In Daraga, Albay, in partnership with the provincial and municipal health offices, our team piloted the MOMCHAT, or the Municipality Optimized Maternal and Child Health Assistance Tracker (MOMCHAT). A web-based dashboard application and SMS-based data receiver for forecasting demand and supply of medical needs for maternal health care in a locality. In this implementation of a pilot run of the technology, we saw promising ICT-based solution which may help provide crucial RH related data in real time that LGUs and national government could use for data-based policy decisions.

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In Cebu’s Tri-cities, we implemented the ReachYouth project, a USAID-ReachHealth supported project by  which is a continuation of the Forum’s engagement with Cebu City’s Night High schools in previous years (since 2015). Entitled ‘Reach Youth in the Margins:  Improve State of  Reproductive Health of Night High School Students in Cebu’s Tri-City’, this project intends to contribute to a long-term goal of improving the state of reproductive health of adolescents and youth coming from Night High Schools, and the implementation of Comprehensive Sexuality Education (CSE) in the Night High Schools youth and adolescents are linked to public and private health facilities that would respond to their reproductive health needs.

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This year, we are able to reach 146 public school teachers who received training on bridging the gaps in teaching reproductive health to their students. A total of 92 barangay officials and Sangguniang Kabataan officials were enabled to participate in RH issue orientations and educational discussions. And a total of 48 health personnel of the Department of Education from Cebu Tri-cities were trained to communicate and advocate ARH.

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While our team had so much limitations due to pandemic-induced disruptions, we are able to work it out. I express my gratitude to the eminent persons, trustees and advisers for their trust and confidence in me and the members of the secretariat.

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BENJAMIN D. DE LEON

President