Govt guarantees availability of contraceptives

Dicky Christanto , The Jakarta Post , Denpasar | Wed, 05/07/2008 9:41 AM | Bali

The government has guaranteed the availability of contraceptives, especially for lower income households, despite increased costs of materials and production.

"We anticipated the increasing costs as a result of rising oil prices and have secured sufficient contraceptive stock," National Family Planning Coordinating Board (BKKBN) chairman Sugiri Syarif said Monday.

He was speaking at the second International Conference on Reproductive Health Management.

"There are enough contraceptives for all families, especially the poorer and more needy, until the end of the year," he said.

The three-day conference was aimed at sharing reproductive health management knowledge among participants. It was attended by 625 participants from 11 countries, including representatives from international donor groups.

The deputy executive director for programs at the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), Purnima Mane, said the UNFPA was committed to supporting Indonesia and other developing countries in their bid to implement family planning programs.

"We cannot fail in this program because it affects many government plans for improving the economy," she said.

She added the UNFPA had received a US$100 million grant from the British government to provide contraceptives. Further discussions on the allocation of the grant were among the issues being hashed out at the conference.

She said Indonesia was considered a success in the implementation of its family planning program and would receive a share of the grant.

Established during Soeharto's New Order administration, the family planning program known as Keluarga Berencana (KB), which was famous for its slogan "two children are enough", is now run by the BKKBN.

The BKKBN at the time worked with other government agencies to introduce KB by campaigning and setting up family planning units in almost every hospital in the country.

About 29 million couples participated in the program, which received funding of Rp 1.6 trillion. About 60 percent of participants volunteered and the rest were obliged to take part.

Syarif said the BKKBN had also considered ways to increase the participation of lower income couples, especially those living in slum areas and remote villages.

He said KB officials were tasked with engaging with these couples to give them a better understanding of the benefits of joining the program.

The officials also offered free services and contraceptives to couples unable to afford them.

He said KB had 33 cars as well as motorcycles to reach couples in remote areas.

He said the BKKBN, in cooperation with the Health Ministry and international organizations such as the UNFPA, the World Bank, USAID and other NGOs, was also aiming its program at teenagers.

"Teens run big risks through unwanted pregnancy, so we're trying to draw their attention toward topics such as reproductive health management and family planning. Once they understand the issues, I hope they will be more careful," he said.

He said a series of road shows on sex education had been conducted, involving popular musicians and movie stars to help spread the message.

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