Family Planning .... I am done!

It's been a good three month stint so far here in Tarlac for the Wireless Reach Project. Got to do many stuffs that i love doing but certainly new things to learn are sprouting along the way as well. I am in mood to discuss the development of the Family Planning module in CHITS.

The FP module in FHSIS is composed of around 11 modules (7 are natural methods, 4 are artifcial / 9 are for females,2 are for males). Guided by the original (readme: full of corrections) FHSIS manual, FP record sheet and the knowledge of PHO people, the FP module development is up for cooking. well, i am talking 3 months ago. now, i am almost done doing the programming part and starting to pull and demonstrate data via reports. Nonetheless, here are my learnings about FP in general.

1. there are 3 pop shops in Tarlac. Pop shop is a stall placed by a certain NGO in RHU's to sell pills and condoms. Pop shop caters FP clients. It promotes Frenzy over Trust condoms. Hehe.

2. A person cannot apply for an FP method if he/she does not have an identified spouse.They call it MAWRA or married women in reproductive age. But i understand that even unmarried couples can also apply.

3. FP is multi-factorial program. It involves social, physical, logistics and economic factors. And i forgot, spritual as well.

4. IUD is small 'T' wire inserted inside uterus. The aim is to block charging sperm cell entering in the danger zone. yet, i know one who uses IUD yet still got pregnant. whew, super-charged and adrenaline high sperm cells!

5. The derivation of contraceptive prevalence rate (CPR) is done by deriving Current User, MaWra,etc. all we wanted to know is how well the population is using the FP in general.Phils has national rate of 55% of CPR. 55 out of 100 FP clients are religiously using the methods. the other 45 must be doing something natural to man.

6. when a condom was re-supplied with 10 packs of condoms and returns after 2 days to get another set, that would mean two things: 1. He's on his way to Guiness Book of Records for having most sex within a week OR 2. Earning something by selling the condoms.

Aside from typical reports that would show numbers, FP also involves logistics. the pho would want to have monitoring system of contraceptives and at the same time, a means to count the source of contraceptives.

FP, i believe, can be an advantage or disadvantage. If used properly, it can limit population growth and as such, lessens the demand for scarce resources. a disadvantage because it can be abused and might encourage pre-marital sex. Above anything else, the real essence of family planning is making sure that a family is living decently regardless of size. This is demonstrated with children going to school and well-nourished, husband and wife working hand-in-hand to support the family and the family itself has a good moral foundation.

Above the contraceptives, i think this is what the country needs more.

PS: I am thinking of doing a survey soon on the quality of various condoms in the market. Back to work.