Lockdowns worsen PH’s teenage pregnancy woes

Commission on Population and Development (PopCom) Executive Director Juan Antonio Perez 3rd said that lockdowns during the Covid-19 pandemic further exacerbate the explosion of teenage pregnancy in the Philippines.

“These adolescents have no decision-making power, economic independence, autonomy, and are considered by many countries as powerless; they face greater risks of repeat pregnancies and are vulnerable to gender-based violence as well as intergenerational poverty during and as a result of their early childbearing,” Perez said in his speech during the Youth Forum of the United Nations Economic and Social Council on April 7, World Health Day.