In an effort to ensure that the reproductive health and other medical needs of the Filipino youth are addressed, the Department of Education (DepEd) led the launch of the Comprehensive Sexuality Education and Adolescent Reproductive Health (CSE-ARH) Convergence.

As part of the One Health Week celebration, DepEd - along with the Department of Health (DOH) and Commission on Population and Development (POPCOM) - launched the CSE-ARH Convergence last week.

“Through the CSE-ARH Convergence, the Department affirms its commitment in ensuring that the reproductive health and other medical needs of its learners are comprehensively attended to,” Education Secretary Leonor Briones said.

The launch of the CSE-ARH is part of the whole-of-government response to the ongoing challenges of high levels of adolescent pregnancies, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) or acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) infection, and other reproductive health issues among young people.

“We invite all sectors to join us in this whole-of-government, whole-of-society approach in addressing this priority issue,” Briones added.

The CSE focuses on the integration of scientific, age- and developmentally appropriate, and culturally and gender-responsive information on the cognitive, emotional, physical, and social aspects of sexuality in the K-12 Curriculum.

On the other hand, the ARH Program focuses on the establishment of facilities of information for responsible parenthood and reproductive health concerns, including capacity building and health promotion activities for learners and DepEd personnel, and on ensuring the provision of counseling and proper referral for learners’ reproductive health concerns.

DepEd and its partner agencies expressed optimism that with proper implementation of the convergence of CSE-ARH, the health status of adolescents may be improved through linking classroom instruction to critical adolescent reproductive health interventions accessible from various public social and health facilities within the community.

The CSE-ARH Convergence launching was part of DepEd’s One Health Week featuring the flagship programs of Oplan Kalusugan sa DepEd (OK sa DepEd).

DepEd said that this convergence is also a part of the realization of the multi-stakeholder consensus “The 2019 Declaration on Addressing the Education, Health and Development Issues of Early Pregnancy” which was drafted during the “2019 Kapit Kamay Summit: Empowering the Youth to Make Informed Choices.”

Through this convergence, the CSE-ARH referral pathway will be strengthened from school-based interventions to creating linkages to adolescent-friendly health services.

The vital components to this convergence include Endorsement and Partnership; Tools & Materials Development; Training & Capacity Building; Delivery of Quality ARH Services; and Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning (MEL).

Aside from DOH and PopCom, USAID Philippine also expressed support for the initiative.

“We join hands with you at DepEd to strengthen comprehensive sexuality education-adolescent reproductive health links to facilitate collaboration between schools and communities and to empower learners so that they can access age-appropriate information and services that will help,” USAID Philippines Office of Health Director Michelle Lang-Alli said.