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    • Mar 17, 2021
    • 4 min read

Dima and the journey towards convenient sexual health resources for Filipinos

Despite urges of family planning from the Commission of Population and Development, in an article published last August 2020, the United Nations Population Fund (Philippines) projected a 42% increase in unplanned pregnancies in 2020. That’s approximately 2.56 million, or 751,000 more than the previous year. Beyond the statistics, it’s not uncommon to personally hear a story or two about an unplanned pregnancy.


Obviously, more action needs to be done regarding reproductive health education and accessibility in the country. Dima co-founder Julia Cu Unjieng and Amarela founder Nina Co both think so, too.


Dima was first brought to life during a conversation between co-founders Julia and her brother Carlo while stuck in traffic one day. “I don’t know how we got to this topic, but we started talking about my friends who had unplanned pregnancies or contracted STIs, and Carlo was like ‘wait a minute,’ -- because he’s 12 years older than I am, but he was hearing the exact same stories as the ones he was hearing when he was my age. So we were like ‘that’s so messed up, how come nothing has changed?’ We have a 12 year age gap but we have the exact same problem.' And so came to life the online company, officially launched just last year during the onset of the country’s lockdown, Dima exists to make sexual health easier and more accessible to everyone. Whether it’s through offering different brands of birth control pills, condoms, erectile dysfunction medicine, or even sustainable menstrual products, Dima has been making its mark with its accessibility.

While on the subject of the country’s current perceptions of reproductive health, Nina tells me about the lack of accessible sexual and reproductive health products and services in the country. “A lot of things are illegal, and accessibility is really an issue -- it’s either expensive, they can’t see a doctor, or they’re a minor; there’s a lot of factors that come into how you can access contraceptives. So this is why we decided to push for more accessible sexual health because a lot of people need to benefit from it. Overpopulation is such a big problem in the country, and if we just get into the right family planning and sexual health education, we really believe that it will make a difference in the long run.” To add, Julia also mentions the inconvenience of sexual health being perceived as taboo. “...For men as well, I mean you never hear about men talking about Viagra, it’s a problem we have right now actually; no one wants to talk about it. And accessing sexual health is so uncomfortable. You’ll hear a lot of terrible stories about people who feel like they’ve been discriminated in the drug store, or just to go see a doctor to get a prescription for a product you already know you need can cost over a thousand pesos, and it’s a whole day event. Not everyone can afford to get off work for a whole day to get their medicine. So there was a space that had to be filled to create a sort of frictionless system that allowed people to access the health that they need without being inconvenienced every step of the way.”


Aside from cheaper birth control pill options, customers are also given the option to book a consultation with one of Dima’s partner doctors. “So the doctors are the ones to read through questionnaires after someone’s made an order, and they’re the ones who approve or deny the order to make sure that it’s safe. This service is free on Dima...but people can also choose to consult a doctor through our telemedicine platform if they would like to learn even more.​” Julia shares. And if that wasn’t reassuring enough, Dima also plays a role in furthering sexual health education as well. “...Our curriculum doesn’t include it [sexual health education], so that’s something we try to do. Like even through our customer service, one problem we face is so many people don’t know what pill to take or so many people are afraid of it... And so we have doctors, and we’re able to guide people every step of the way, and we have articles and infographics on our blog, so we’re just trying to push the education part too.”

In response to the possibility of fear and hesitation young people have regarding oral contraceptives, Nina shares the frequent misinformation when it comes to the pill. “If you take it correctly, you won’t get pregnant. At Dima, we really try to tell people the side effects will go away after a while, or that the benefits outweigh the negatives. And you really just have to educate yourself or ask people who can help you with this - like a doctor or resources similar to Dima - just don’t be scared to do it kasi honestly, it’s really important for people to be on contraceptives if they’re sexually active. It’s dangerous if they’re not because we don’t have a lot of resources for people who get pregnant [unexpectedly] in the country unless it’s going through the pregnancy full term. So if anyone wants to try pills, condoms, even implants, or anything similar, they just really need to educate themselves and seek help.” Julia also shares the benefits of the pill even for women who aren’t sexually active. “There are so many different kinds of pills and they have different benefits; like for women who have PCOS, so for maintenance, you’re gonna wanna get on the pill, or for women who just have really bad cramps, and it really helps women with [bad] hormonal acne too. So the pill is safe, ultimately it’s safe unless you have specific conditions that make it unsafe too. So it’s a good resource to have, I think. People should look into it and not be so scared, you know, like ask as many questions as you need to so that you’re comfortable taking it. Just try to learn as much as you can about it before you write it off.”


 

For more information on Dima, visit their website at dima.ph. For more information on Amarela, visit them on Facebook.


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