Adolescent pregnancies dropped in the Philippines by 13 per cent in 2020, the lowest in 17 years, amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the country’s population commission said on Friday.
It said that the number of births among mothers, aged between 10 years and 19 years old, went down by 23,855 in 2020 from 2019, according to the Commission on Population and Development.
However, this means that there were about 159,600 young mothers in 2020, which was the lowest level since 2003.
“This is good news for us and our partners who have been advocating a reduction in teen pregnancies,’’ said Juan Antonio Perez, the Executive Director of the Population Commission.
“The lowest number of birth was around December 2020, when the pandemic had effectively curbed adolescent fertility because of factors like the closing down of face-to-face classes and the lockdowns,’’ he told a press briefing.
In spite of the decrease, the commission stressed the need to continue to address the effects of adolescent pregnancies, noting that “the numbers might rise anew once pandemic concerns recede.’’
The Philippine Government has been easing Coronavirus restrictions since the last quarter of 2021 as infections decline and more Filipinos get vaccinated against COVID-19.
On Friday, the Department of Health reported 2,232 new COVID-19 cases, bringing the country’s total caseloads to more than 3.64 million.
The death toll rose by 79 to 55,409, the department said.