BAGUIO CITY – The re-organized Provincial Advocacy Action Team on Reproductive Health and Magna Carta for Women convened recently to beef up plans for public awareness and enhance stakeholder participation on RH and related concerns.
The province is one among the five pilot areas in the country which are recipients of the advocacy project dubbed “Sustained National and Local Advocacy for RH in the Philippines”. The project is funded by Melinda and Bill Gates Foundation through the Forum for Family Planning and Development Foundation in partnership with the Philippine Legislators Committee for Population and Development (PLCPD).
The other pilot areas are Albay, Cebu, Palawan and Ifugao.
In the meeting convened by new Action Team chairperson Governor Crescencio Pacalso, Local Governance and Development Unit (LGDU)-PLCPD Manager Rio Magpayao underscored the tasks of the advocacy team to ensure project implementation, monitoring and evaluation.
Mapayao stressed the need for additional funding from the local government which is important especially at the municipal level as they are frontliners in the implementation of the program. He also underscored the need for trainings of health personnel and service providers who do multi-tasks.
Mapayao assured the team that projects or activities which bridge the gap of RH will be supported.
The Provincial Advocacy Action Team composed of representatives from the provincial government, non government organizations, media, academe, church, youth, and other significant sectors was created through Provincial Ordinance No. 177 to oversee the implementation of the provisions of responsible parenthood and reproductive health law and Magna Carta for Women.
With the change in administration, Pacalso issued Administrative Order No. 2016-031 re-organizing team. /JDP/SCA-PIA-CAR, Benguet
