This is a recently coined word combining the words babae (woman) and bayanihan (community spirit).
There are approximately 10 million girls aged 10-19 years old in the Philippines. But by age 19, one in five girls will be a mother, according to the country’s 2013 demographic and health survey.
The Babaenihan Campaign is a call to action for the public and private sectors, as well as civil society partners, to invest in education, health and economic opportunities for adolescent girls.
Babaenihan will conduct talks at both the national and community level, and will engage with local governments.
The community-based talks, to be held throughout the country, will enable marginalized girls to participate in, and shape the direction of, the campaign.
At a launch event held on 11 August 2017 at Western Philippines University, an open forum on teenage pregnancy was conducted with high school students.
