Excellencies,
The Philippines welcomes the adoption of the 9th UNFPA Country Programme Document 2024-2028.
We are pleased that the new CPD is consistent with the development aspirations of our recently signed UN Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework 2024-2028, the Philippine Development Plan 2023-2028 and the Philippine Population and Development Plan of Action 2023-2028.
The CPD is expected to support the achievement of the country’s Population and Development Plan of Action in order to maximize demographic opportunities and tackle existing population challenges, thereby accelerating socio-economic development.
The comments from the governments of Germany and the United States of America are well received and appreciated, and are within our existing thrusts.
The Philippines is dedicated to addressing gender discrimination and violence and empowering women and girls, especially those marginalized, with knowledge of sexual and reproductive health and rights.
Taking the lead on the country’s population management program, our Population and Development Commission collaborates with national agencies and partners like UNFPA to promote comprehensive sexuality education and adolescent reproductive health. The Commission also strives to enhance policy research and advocacy to ensure nationwide implementation of population development policies.
We will also strengthen global partnerships through South-South cooperation as part of the Philippine Population and Development Plan of Action.
In implementing the CPD, the Philippines proposes the following concrete areas of cooperation:
- Sustaining cooperation and implementing the Longitudinal Cohort Study on the Filipino Child to provide evidence-based information for enhanced policy and program implementation for adolescents.
- Monitoring the country's progress in harnessing the demographic dividend by analyzing shifting population dynamics and determining the timeline of the country's demographic window of opportunity, as well as building government capacity in the use of National Transfer Accounts for social policy making.
- Strengthening the provision and monitoring of reproductive health services, particularly among youth by capacitating the Department of Health and local government units to forecast family planning commodity requirements for availability in local health facilities.
Excellencies,
We commend the efforts of the UNFPA Philippine Country Office led by Dr. Leila Joudane in the preparation of the CPD, as well as the positive collaboration of Mr. Pio Smith, UNFPA Regional Director for Asia and the Pacific.
We trust that the CPD will translate into concrete actions tailored to our nationally determined priorities, and in line with our commitments to the 2030 Agenda and the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) Programme of Action.
Thank you. END