The U.N. Population Fund says the Philippines is the only country in the Asia Pacific region where the rate of teen pregnancies rose over the last two decades.
A study says teen pregnancies, high youth unemployment and the slow decline of the overall fertility rate in the Philippines may deprive the country of the faster economic growth that usually comes from having more working-age people than younger and older dependents.
UNFPA country representative Klaus Beck said Tuesday that Filipino girls aged 15 to 19 make up 10 percent of the population of 100 million, and one out of 10 of them have already given birth.
He emphasized the urgency of fully implementing the reproductive health law and investing in quality education and health services for teenage girls.