Office of Population Studies was commissioned by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) to conduct a qualitative study on Child, Early, Forced Marriages and Unions (CEFMU) in Region 8. The CEFMU Study was among the initiatives under the Joint Programme on Accelerating the Reduction of Adolescent Pregnancy (JPARAP), which involves UNFPA, United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), the World Health Organization (WHO), the Department of Health and other government agencies in Region 8, with funding from KOICA. JPARAP is aimed to address the adolescent pregnancy issue in Region 8 (Eastern Visayas), especially in the provinces of Southern Leyte and Samar.
The CEFMU Study’s main objectives were to identify typologies and patterns of CEFMU, its drivers and consequences on the lives of the women in the study sample who engaged in CEFMU or have experienced adolescent pregnancy. Data were collected through in-depth interviews. The Center for Social Research and Education (CSRE) of the University of San Carlos in Cebu City was commissioned by OPS to conduct all data collection operations, including hiring, training and debriefing of the field teams after data collection.