The Philippines is another country where the Marie Stopes team faces a big challenge as it is estimated that only 36% of women use modern methods of family planning and 2.4 million women having an unmet need for contraceptives.  The Marie Stopes program in the Philippines is our longest running Asia Pacific program and is delivered through 11 centres by our in-country partner, Population Services Philipinas Incorporated.  Family planning outreach services were also a focus for the Philippines team and nearly 15,000 outreach sessions are conducted annually, reaching over 375,000 people.

The Philippines program are in the second year of a project known as BlueStar Midwives.  This project aims to have 300 midwives providing high-quality contraceptive and birthing services by the end of 2010.  BlueStar works with existing midwives and provides them with high-quality training in family planning and business so they can maximise their existing businesses and help more women access safe birthing services and vital post-partum contraceptive services.

The continued success of the BlueStar project is not just helping more women access healthcare services, but also helping the midwives manage successful businesses. By building on the BlueStar reputation as a high-quality healthcare provider, the project is helping local midwives run sustainable businesses while empowering them to generate an income, support their families and their local communities – a considerable achievement in a country where female employment rates are low.

Current Projects

• BlueStar Midwives project which aims to have 300 midwives by the end of 2010
• 11 sexual and reproductive health centres supporting nearly 15,000 outreach sessions a year

Her Story

One woman we helped in the Philippines, 28 year old Maleah, came to our tubal ligation outreach program wanting to find a way to plan her family.  With four children already, Maleah and her family live in a small house with only two rooms, one of which they all sleep in at night.  Through talking to our team members they discovered that Maleah has epilepsy, making her ineligible for a tubal ligation.  The team then explained other options and Maleah decided that she would have an intrauterine device which would provide her with peace of mind for the next five years.  At the end of her consultation she said that she was ‘…so happy now, as I can think about the future and how I am going to be a mother for the children that I have. I am so happy that they will grow up with more’.