Disparities in Adolescent Sexual and Reproductive Health in the Philippines: Towards Realizing the Demographic Dividend

Elma Laguna, University of the Philippines Diliman
Maria Midea Kabamalan, University of the Philippines
Sanny Boy Afable, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research

For decades, the population policy in the Philippines had been shifting back and forth between the sometimes-conflicting objectives of slowing down population growth, and upholding reproductive rights. This changed with the landmark enactment of the much-debated Reproductive Health Act of 2012. The law specifically highlights adolescent and youth reproductive health guidance, counseling, and education as among the elements of reproductive health care. However, more than a decade since the enactment of the RPRH Law, our understanding of the components, drivers, and regional disparities in the state of adolescent sexual and reproductive health (ASRH), as well as its implications on achieving the demographic dividend, is still evolving. Using data from the 2021 Young Adult Fertility and Sexuality Study, a nationwide survey of Filipino youth aged 15-24, this paper analyzes key indicators of adolescent reproductive health and how these differ across selected background characteristics. The analysis also explores how ASRH indicators differ across regions with varying level of achieving demographic dividend, as measured by the support ratio. Preliminary results show young people from regions with high support ratio also exhibit better ASRH indicators, such as higher condom use, delayed age at first sexual initiation, higher knowledge of HIV/AIDS.

Keywords: Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights, Children, Adolescents, and Youth

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