BUTUAN CITY – Teenage pregnancies in the Caraga region declined from 8.2 percent in 2017 to 7.7 percent in 2022, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) said in its 2022 National Demographic Health Survey (NDHS). This was consistent with the findings of the University of the Philippines Population Institute’s (UPPI) 2021 Young Adult Fertility and Sexuality Study (YAFS5) which revealed that child-bearing among young women aged 15 to 19 in the region declined from 17.3 percent in 2013 to 7.8 percent in 2021. The NDHS said 7.7 percent of women in the Caraga aged 15 to 19 had ever been pregnant, less than one percent (0.4 percent) of them are currently pregnant, and 1.1 percent had a pregnancy loss. These key findings came nearly two years after former President Rodrigo R. Duterte signed and issued Executive Order No. 141 highlighting the need to implement measures and mechanisms to address the rising number of teenage pregnancies in the country. According to the Commission on Population and Development (Popcom)-Caraga, this drop in teenage pregnancy in the region is a product of concerted efforts of the various national government agencies, local government units, private sectors, and civil society organizations. To sustain this positive change, Popcom, along with its partners, will continuously be aggressive in its various social and behavior change communication and advocacy (SBCC) approaches under one of its Population and Development Integrated Strategies – the Sexually Healthy, Protected, and Empowered Adolescents (SHPE-A) – to further reduce incidence of pregnancies among adolescents and make them well-informed, empowered, healthy,  and responsible.