A Cry for Help:

In 2019, the Philippines saw an alarming teen birth rate that was double the rate observed in the United States. Former President Rodrigo Duterte called it a “national social emergency” and issued an executive order that sought to address the root causes of the crisis. Now, Philippines native and Rutgers-Camden School of Nursing Assistant Professor Jamille Nagtalon-Ramos has been recognized for her research and advocacy around this issue.

Nagtalon-Ramos was selected from a highly competitive pool of applicants to serve on the Young Filipino Leadership Program’s 2022 Immersion Cohort, a network of leaders dedicated to advancing initiatives, programs, and causes that support U.S.-Philippine relations. She and 14 other delegates will embark on a weeklong immersion trip to Manila, Philippines, where they will interact with government officials and leaders in the fields of business, arts and culture and civil society.

The 2019 executive order quoted statistics from the United Nations Population Fund Philippines, saying that only three percent of children born to adolescent mothers are fathered by men of the same age group. That statistic points to both cultural and healthcare concerns.

“Adolescent pregnancy has a deep impact on the adolescent’s life. 97 percent of these teen pregnancies are the result of coercion or unequal power relations between an older male who is outside of the adolescent’s age group,” Nagtalon-Ramos said. “Teen pregnancy also has a tremendous economic impact on the society, as these girls and women may have to drop out of school and disrupt their education. Only 38 percent of teenage mothers complete their high school education by the time they are 22 years old, as most of their focus is on raising their children.”