CPD: Quality over quantity, a shift in population focus

CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY (PIA)–  The well-being of the people is a critical factor in development.

This was emphasized by Neil Aldrin G. Omega, regional director of the Commission on Population Development (CPD) during the recent Talakayan sa PIA.

The greater the number of individuals, the greater the necessity to furnish various services for them, encompassing social services, health services, education, and employment, among other provisions.

“We have been implementing the national population and family planning program for more than 50 years; this was passed in 1971. In those 50 years, we were able to bring down population growth to a certain level. Now it’s already 1.46, which shows population growth steadily slowing down,” Omega said.

In the 1970s, it used to be six children per woman, said the director; now it is two children per woman.

Omega said husbands were able to realize that having a small number of children is beneficial for families to increase their capacity to have savings and use these savings to invest in the health and education of their children.

“In terms of the numbers, we are so successful in helping couples and individuals achieve their desired number of children,” he said.

With this achievement, CPD is now shifting the focus from numbers to human lives.

“We want everyone to have a better life. For everyone to have that capacity to be and to do,” Omega said, emphasizing improving the quality of life for each individual.

The goal includes a better educated population, a healthier and more resilient population where Filipinos live longer, and an increasing working-age population. (JMOR, edited by RTP/PIA-10)