‘Teen centers’ help reduce Antique teen pregnancies

Antique Provincial Population officer Primo Ogatis Jr. says teen centers are able to reach out to more youth to become aware of Adolescent Health and Youth Development Program. The 18 existing teen centers are located in 15 out of the total 18 towns in the province. PNA

SAN JOSE, Antique – The establishment of teen centers is a big factor in the continuous decline in teenage pregnancy since 2016, said Provincial Population Office (PPO).

According to PPO head Primo Ogatis Jr., secondary students while in the teen centers tend to spend more time reading and watching television about Adolescent Health and Youth Development Program (AHYDP).

“We have trained peer counselors at the teen centers who help other students become more aware of the AHYDP, which addresses teenage pregnancy, protection from human immunodeficiency virus, school dropouts, and their other psychosocial pressures,” Ogatis said.

He added in 2016, Antique registered the highest teen pregnancy rate in Western Visayas with 1,619.

“The highest age bracket then was 15 to 19 years old teenagers who are supposedly still in school, with mostly having no means of living,” he noted.

Ogatis said the sad outcome of teenage pregnancy has prompted the provincial government to establish more school-based teen centers and train more student-peer counselors to help promote the AHYDP.

“Our first two teen centers were established at the University of Antique main campus in Sibalom and at the Antique National School in San Jose de Buenavista,” he said.

Ogatis explained they established the teen centers in two most populous schools in 2002.

Each centers costs around 150,000 intended for the training of the peer counselors and equipment.

“The schools provided the classrooms that were converted into teen centers while the municipal government units provided funding to sustain the operation,” he said.

Ogatis added that municipal government’s support to the teen centers was a challenge.

The 18 existing teen centers are located in 15 out of the total 18 towns in the province.

“There are two teen centers established in San Remigio, two in Laua-an, and three in Hamtic towns while the rest of the municipalities have one teen center except for Caluya, Valderrama and Sebaste,” he said. (With a report from PNA/PN)

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