PHILIPPINES: Learning about Population-Health-Environment Link is a Family, Festive Affair
Sherill P. Rotairo
Field Coordinator/BALANCED-Philippines
For many Filipinos, graduation is a time to celebrate; and graduating from a Mother's Class is no different. In Matalom, Leyte, 106 mothers – with their children and husbands in tow – received last Jan. 26 their certificates for completing sessions on maternal and child health, equipping them with knowledge on proper nutrition, breastfeeding, vaccination and family planning to ensure a healthy, well-planned family. A discussion by USAID's BALANCED Philippines Project on the interrelationship of population, health and environment (PHE) issues highlighted the sessions. Unlike in other Mother's Classes, husbands are encouraged to join sessions conducted in all BALANCED Project sites to emphasize the role of men in planning families. Through classes like this, the Project expects to reach out to about 3,000 women of reproductive age and their partners in Malalom which has a population of 31,000 that depend so much on coastal resource for livelihood. The Project advocates a well-planned family to lessen population pressure on the country's natural resources.
Mothers, along with other family members, attend the graduation ceremonies in Matalom, Leyte coming prepared with food to be shared during the celebration. BALANCED-Philippines/PFPI photo by Sherill Rotairo