(MANILA BULLETIN)

House Deputy Speaker and Las Piñas City lone district Rep. Camille Villar is concerned over the rising rate of maternal deaths in the country during the past few years.

As such, Villar filed House Resolution (HR) No.1025 urging the House Committees on Health, on Women and Gender Equality, and on Sustainable Development Goals to conduct an inquiry on the matter.

The lady solon noted in HR No.1025 that 2,478 women died due to pregnancy-related complications or childbirth in 2021, or a rate of six to seven deaths daily.

The Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) bared that in 2020, a total of 1,975 women were identified to have died of maternal causes, compared to the 1,458 deaths in 2019. This means that the figure has been increasing.

Villar, spokesperson of the Nacionalista Party (NP), is also batting for improvements in healthcare delivery to ensure pregnant women get sufficient medical care.

“It is imperative to institute reforms with the way the present state of affairs of the country’s healthcare is being run, rethink present strategies and support key programs for reproductive health,” she wrote in the measure.

She further shared worrisome details on the issue: some 14 percent of pregnant women did not receive necessary medical care including regular checkups during their pregnancy, while one in 10 women was also unable to access health facilities or assistance from skilled healthcare personnel during childbirth.

Villar said the rising pregnancy-related deaths underscores the maternal mortality crisis in the Philippines and called on the government to ensure easier access to a full range of reproductive health care services.

The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) adopted by various countries--including the Philippines, in 2015--aim to reduce the global maternal mortality ratio to less than 70 per 100,000 live births by year 2030.

The SDGs also seek to ensure universal access to sexual and reproductive healthcare services including family planning, information and education, and the integration of reproductive health into national strategies and programs.

Villar filed the resolution last May 24.
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