What is the role of youth nowadays?

For academic awards, to a friend, or can be a

distributor of social issues that affect our economy? Does Dr. Jose Rizal is right? Are
we the hope? or we are one of the distributors? Today, I'm standing in front of you to
speak about the level of hardships that may cause by teenage pregnancy. I'm a young
observer of how we youth move for the future.

Social Issues like poverty, inequality, crime, lack of access to health care,
unemployment, and lack of access to education, may be caused by teenage pregnancy.
According to UNFPA-Philippines or the United Nations Sexual and Reproductive
Health Agency- Philippines, In 2008, 10% of Filipino teens got pregnant throughout
their teenage years. In 2017 adolescent pregnancy decreased to 9%. Teenagers giving
birth live in 2016, in that matter 203,085 mothers (ages 10 to 19), and is drop to
196,478 the year 2017 and 183,000 in 2018. Still, the Philippines has one of the
highest birth rates of adolescents in the ASEAN Member States. According to recent
World Bank data, the Philippines has 47 births per year for every 1,000 women aged
15 to 19, or more than the 44 global average for adolescent birth rates. According to
my research, Adolescent girls often drop out of school, limiting their eventual
employment opportunities and perpetuating the vicious cycle of poverty. Girls often
see pregnancy as a better option than continuing their education. The World Bank also
said poverty, poor education, inequality, and inadequate ability to make decisions and
control their life plans put greater risk to early motherhood. Teenage pregnancy is
associated with poverty and a lack of opportunity, somewhat hindrance to women
from needing full advantages and opportunities.

Furthermore, some teenage mothers could not finish college and even high school and
most likely cease to earn a better income which causes economic losses in the country.
A piece of news proved that cases of teenage pregnancy pull the economic growth of
the Philippines.

In addition, psychologically, teenage pregnancy also contributes to higher rates of

postpartum depression and also a higher risk of suicidal thinking. In accord with the
WHO, adolescent mothers (aged 10–19 years) face higher risks of eclampsia,
puerperal endometritis, and systemic infections than women aged 20–24 years, and
babies of adolescent mothers face higher risks of low birth weight, preterm birth, and
severe neonatal condition.

In today's technology-mediated world, we now have technologies to use for study. It is

now easy to study as we can access lessons. Technology can be a factor in why some
teenagers are walking on the wrong path. Another reason is how youth dress. In
Filipino culture, we are the conservative ones. Late Filipinos say we need to wear long
clothes to avoid rapists and to avoid getting pregnant at an early age. But remember,
Maria Clara got raped. According to preen. ph posted 19th of august 2019, It was also
implied

she was raped by Padre Salvi, a Spanish priest, while she was in the convent. It will
never be the clothes, not the behavior and or the situation. It will always be the rapist.

Furthermore, there are a lot of factors why youth are getting pregnant at an early age.
Here, it is a significant problem in our society because it causes too much. The public
should know how to control themselves to help lessen the cases of teenage pregnancy.
Abstinence from sex, focusing and settling plans for the future, and disciplining
ourselves can help to lessen teenage pregnancy cases. It is crucial to realize the role of
youth nowadays because we all know putting stress and so much responsibility can
put more hardships than we suffer today.

As our national hero said "the youth is the hope of the people" ("ang Kabataan ay pag-
asa ng bayan") We should prove that youth is the one who will start to have a better
future. Escape poverty, lack of education and health care, any form of crime, and
unemployment. We should not be contributors. We are the youth advocates for lower
cases of teenage pregnancy.