RH advocates renew campaign in Iloilo
Reproductive health (RH) advocates will be in town tomorrow for a two-day renewed campaign on the immediate passage of Reproductive Health (RH) Bill.
With a symbolic protest planned, issues surrounding the yearly deaths of some 4,500 Filipino mothers are foremost in the discussions slated and set to be commemorated.
Led by the Democratic Socialist Women of the Philippines (DSWP), the RH advocacy gains wider ground here with DWSP national chair Elizabeth C. Angsioco presenting the urgency of the bill’s passage. Angsioco who is also the Secretary General of the Reproductive Health Advocacy Network (RHAN) will be joined by key figures in local RH initiatives and meet with members of the local press.
To note, studies disclosed disturbing figures on maternal mortality due to pregnancy-related complications. Most common are severe hemorrhage, hypertensive disorders, sepsis and problems related to obstructed labor and abortion.
“These deaths could have been prevented if they had access to comprehensive reproductive health and family planning services,” the DWSP in its appeal went.
And to commemorate such, DWSP will lead fellow RH advocates in a simultaneous nationwide candle lighting ceremony on Wednesday.
The event is dubbed “Light a Candle, Save Mothers’ Lives: Support the Passage of RH Bill!”
National and local lawmakers, government officials, health workers, community leaders, and civil society leaders are expected to attend the event.
The candle-lighting ceremony is scheduled at 5:30pm, Wednesday at the Freedom Grandstand here.
A similar event will likewise happen at the House of Representatives Grounds in Batasan Complex, Quezon City, the Fuente Osmeña Circle in Cebu City and the People’s Park in Davao City.
Further still, RH advocates will also converged Wednesday at the Dona Leonila Park Sampaloc Lake, San Pablo City, the Provincial Capitol of Sultan Kudarat and the Balyuan Amphitheater along Magsaysay Boulevard, Tacloban City.