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ost Indonesian adults still prefer a “don’t ask, don’t tell” stance when it comes to sex and their children. However, access to accurate information on sex is crucial to avoiding sexually transmitted disease and dangerous, often fatal, abortions, an activist here said.

While the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) included improving maternal health by 2015, young mothers continue to face many difficulties because of a lack of information on sexual and reproductive health, Rachel A. Judhistari said. “We can avoid that,” she said.

Accurate information on the subject is still considered “taboo and very Western”, said Rachel of the Kuala Lumpur-based Asian-Pacific Resource and Research Centre for Women (ARROW).

“With growing Islamic fundamentalism in Indonesia, young people are finding it difficult to get information and to exercise their right to sexual and reproductive health. Much of the information is hidden and some is censored,” she told a press conference at the fourth post-MDGs High Level Panel talks, which ended Wednesday.

In June last year, Health Minister Nafsiah Mboi, who was newly appointed at that time, made headlines news as rumors spread that she would promote condom use to youngsters. Some rallies were staged against “her plan” to distribute free condoms to avoid the problems of unprotected sex.

Rachel said comprehensive information about sexuality is the best contributor to young people’s health and wellbeing.

Last year, the Health Ministry warned that maternal and infant deaths remained high. The goal is to reduce maternal death rates to 102 per 100,000 live births in 2015 from the current rate of 228.

The National Population and Family Planning Agency (BKKBN) reveals that abortions increased by 15 percent last year. The agency estimates there were 2.4 million abortions in last year, with about 800,000 of the women being teenagers.

While the MDGs mandate better access to information on HIV/AIDS, Rachel said only 27 percent of young people in the Asia-Pacific region were well-informed about the disease. Rachel said she received mixed reactions when delivering her plan to the youth forum during the MDG talks in Bali.

“Some come from more open countries, while others are from more conservative backgrounds,” she said.

“But it’s time to focus on young people with diverse backgrounds, so that the [post-2015] development agenda can accommodate the idea.”

Dian Kartikasari of the Indonesian Women’s Coalition for Justice and Democracy, said that it was the notion of sex education rather than reproductive health education that sparked controversy in Indonesia.

“Many religious leaders think, why should we teach or promote sex to youngsters?” she said on Tuesday, adding that Indonesia already has reproductive health education. National Policy and Strategy 2005-2010 on Reproductive Health includes health education.