"DO IT RIGHT" Campaign for Family Planning and Reproductive Health

Pregnancy, is a big responsibility that has to be taken seriously, and sad to say that the population of young girls getting pregnant are increasing. Some girls and even boys were not able to finish schooling due to early parenthood. Some families that are below poverty line even grow because of the lack of knowledge in family planning. 

An alliance of 11 organizations launched last August 16 in Makati, a campaign urging Filipinos to openly show their support for family planning and reproductive health (RH), with the "DO IT RIGHT!" slogan and a distinctive hand sign.

Based on field health services information system data, reported by the Department of Health, more than 5 out of every 10 married women in the Philippines, are now using modern family planning method as of the last report in 2018.  We now have 7 million women using modern family planning methods, the highest number in history. 

Repeated opinion polls have shown that more than 70 percent of Filipinos support family planning and initiatives, such as the Responsible Parenthood and RH Law.

"The 'DO IT RIGHT!'campaign is designed to encourage everyone to take those beliefs they already hold inside and share them out in the open, proudly, especially on social media like Facebool,"said co-organizer Benjamin de Leon, President of the Forum for Family Planning and Development. "By showing each other how many feel the same, in a positive, celebratory spirit, Filipinos can together free themselves of old inhibitions."

The campaign will include a social-media blitz, festival events, as well as advertising in traditional media like billboards, print and radio. It encourages couples and individuals to flash the Do It Right! hand sign in selfie posts or in public. Two fingers held up together – representing the members of a couple – with a thumb in between representing the contraceptive or safe-sex measures that strengthen their board.

Initial members include DKT Philippines, the Family Planning Organization of the Philippines (FPOP), The Forum for Family Planning and Development, the Philippine Society for Responsible Parenthood, Love Yourself, RTI International, SheDecides Philippines, and all four professional associations for the country's midwives.

"This is wide open. We invite everyone who feels this topic is important – companies, famous Filipinos, anyone – to come on board," said Hyam Asher Bolande, Chairman of the Board of DKT Philippines. Following the example of the #MeToo anti-sexual harassment movement that grew in North America as more and more women spoke up, the Do It Right! campaign is designed to gather strength over time,"he added.

Economists and public-health experts have long lamented the need for improved RH education and access to modern contraception in the Philippines, especially for the country's poorest. Religious-based organization have protested the RH Law in recent years, but the law prevailed against court challenges and is fully in force today.

At the press conference, Commission on population and Development (POPCOM) Undersecretary Juan Antonio Perez III hailed the launch of the 'DO IT RIGHT!' campaign, which he said comes at a crucial time when the government is also increasing its efforts to fully implement the law.

Nandy Senoc, FFOP Executive Director said, "It's high time for society to finally put aside fears and embarrassment about this topic and declare openly - as the majority of Filipinos, together - that RH is OK, that it's responsible."

"When youth and women are empowered, there will be no teen pregnancies, no early marriages, no unwanted pregnancies or abortions. When women are well informed, the fight against poverty is already halfway won," he added.

The coalition has set up a Facebook page (www.facebook.com/DoItRightPh/) to serve as the focal point for the evelving campaign, as well as the hashtag #DoItRight.