City hall employees participate in an expanded workplace wellness program at the Bacolod City Government Center.
Integrating family planning into workplace wellness programs is a powerful strategy to support employees’ overall well-being. According to the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), access to reproductive health services not only empowers individuals but also benefits organizations by fostering a healthier, more focused workforce. In Bacolod City, the Philippines, workplace-based family planning initiatives have proven especially effective in making these services more accessible.
In February, The Challenge Initiative (TCI) partnered with the City Health and Population and Development Offices to conduct a family planning outreach at SM Bacolod, one of the country’s largest mall chains. The initiative provided counseling, reproductive health supplies, and a range of short-acting and long-acting reversible contraceptives (SARCs and LARCs) to 80 mall employees. A dedicated team of doctors, nurses, midwives, and Barangay Health Workers ensured smooth service delivery. As a result, 58 women received either combined oral contraceptive pills or progestin-only pills, and 22 men received condoms. The strong turnout demonstrated high employee engagement and a positive reception to the program.
Health professionals and volunteers deliver family planning education and services as part of workplace wellness programs.
TCI emphasizes outreach as a key strategy for expanding access to reproductive health services, especially for underserved populations. By bringing services directly into workplaces, TCI helps bridge healthcare gaps and ensures that even hard-to-reach communities can benefit – an approach demonstrated in Bacolod’s workplace programs.
Building on this momentum, another Family Planning in the Workplace program was held in March at the Bacolod City Government Center. Seventy city hall employees participated, with 10 women receiving implant insertions – a strong sign of growing trust in LARCs. Additionally, 15 women availed themselves of injectables, 50 received pills, and 112 condoms were distributed, reflecting a broad acceptance of family planning options. Notably, 60 women were referred for pap smears, showing the program’s impact not only in providing immediate services but also in facilitating access to broader reproductive healthcare.
A key feature of Bacolod’s workplace initiatives is the Lab for All (Laboratoryo, Konsulta at Gamot para sa Lahat) mobile clinic that offers free medical consultations, laboratory testing, and medications. By bringing healthcare directly to workplaces and communities, Lab for All helps eliminate barriers to care and ensures wider access to essential reproductive health services.
The Lab for All mobile clinic brings essential reproductive health services directly to Bacolod’s workplaces.
Malou Ferrer, TCI’s Technical Lead for Bacolod, emphasized that these programs are central to the city’s efforts to promote responsible parenthood and informed decision-making around family planning. She also noted that plans are underway to extend outreach to additional sectors, including bus operators, beverage companies, and call centers.
Bacolod is setting a powerful example of how workplace wellness programs can evolve beyond traditional services to include reproductive health, enhancing employee wellbeing, and supporting broader community development.
