A Preliminary Assessment of the Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic in the Implementation of the Philippines’ National Family Planning Program (NFPP)

39 Pages Posted: 15 Mar 2022

See all articles by John Carlo Daquis

John Carlo Daquis

The University of the Philippines Diliman

Leonardo M. Jaminola

The University of the Philippines Diliman

Date Written: October 13, 2021

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic has affected the healthcare system as it put the system under intense pressure. Family planning (FP) programs were not exempted from the disruptions caused by the health crisis. In different countries, FP programs were affected by disruptions which led to the inaccessibility of FP services. In the Philippines, the National Family Planning Program (NFPP) is being carried out to achieve universal access to FP information and services. As part of this, the program has two targets set for 2022: (1) to increase the modern contraceptive prevalence rate (mCPR) for all women to 30%; and (2) to reduce the unmet needs for modern family planning by 8%. However, difficulties and challenges concerning the implementation of the program arose due to the pandemic which led to inaccessibility and lower demand for FP services. This paper seeks to assess the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the Philippines’ NFPP by using quantitative and qualitative methods. Based on the trend analysis, the national total fertility rate (TFR) was decreasing before the pandemic. However, TFR for 2020 and 2021 is expected to increase. Meanwhile, there was also a projected decrease in the mCPR in 2020. Aside from this, short-term forecasts using a logarithmic trend model showed that projected mCPR in 2022 is similar to mCPR levels three years prior. This increase in fertility and decrease in the mCPR may be partially attributed to the challenges in FP implementation during the pandemic. The following were the most prominent challenges to the NFPP: (1) decrease in staffing; (2) reduction in the number of health facilities offering FP services; (3) limited mobility of clients; (4) discontinuation of demand generation activities; and (5) supply management issues. While there were responses enacted to mitigate the effect of the pandemic on the FP program, disruptions still happened which led to the decrease in the provision of FP services in the country.

Keywords: fertility, family planning, COVID-19 pandemic, Philippines

Suggested Citation

Daquis, John Carlo and Jaminola, Leonardo, A Preliminary Assessment of the Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic in the Implementation of the Philippines’ National Family Planning Program (NFPP) (October 13, 2021). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=4055731 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.4055731

John Carlo Daquis

The University of the Philippines Diliman ( email )

Leonardo Jaminola (Contact Author)

The University of the Philippines Diliman ( email )

Philippines

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