The Challenge Initiative (TCI), a program co-funded and co-managed by the Zuellig Family Foundation (ZFF) and the Bill and Melinda Gates Institute for Population and Reproductive Health, visited Sorsogon City to have a meeting with Mayor Ester E. Hamor on February 10, 2023. Also present in the meeting were Dr. Rolando E. Dealca (City Health Officer), Sheila Marie Gumba (Head-City Population Section) and other stakeholders. The program aims to accelerate the reduction of teenage pregnancies in the Philippines and is co-implemented by the Commission on Population and Development (POPCOM) and the Department of Health (DOH). ZFF officials discussed with Mayor Hamor the objective of the foundation, which is to establish adolescent-friendly health facilities that promote positive health-seeking behavior and improve access to family planning programs.
ZFF officials provided coaching and mentoring anchored on the Bridging Leadership Framework, which gives emphasis on the leadership roles as the visionary, caller and integrator of issues concerning adolescent and youth reproductive health in their respective territories.
Mayor Hamor reiterated the need for more social protection programs for young mothers and their children. She instructed Ms. Gumba to intensify community participation through comprehensive sexuality education by engaging stakeholders.