T

he Indonesian government, through the National Population and Family Planning Board (BKKBN), signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, in Sanur, Bali, on Saturday to revitalize the national family planning program, which has been stagnant for the last few years.

The total budget set under the MoU is US$40 million for four years.

BKKBN chairman Fasli Djalal represented Indonesia at the MoU signing, and said that the agreement would create new momentum to reactivate family planning in Indonesia, as the country also welcomes new leadership.

'€œ[The family planning] program fell short following the reform era. It was not placed as a major priority in the development programs of the post-reform administrations,'€ Djalal told The Jakarta Post after the signing. Family planning enjoyed its heyday in the early 1980s and 1990s in Indonesia.

The enactment of the decentralization policy worsened the situation, as the BKKBN did not have the authority to monitor the program at the regional level, Djalal said.

'€œNot all provincial and regional administrations continued the once-robust family planning programs in their respective areas. The result was dismaying. The National [Socioeconomic] Survey, Susenas, showed the country'€™s swelling population reached 237.5 million people in 2012 with high fertility growth and the low rates of family planning services in certain areas in Indonesia,'€ he said.

Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health dean Michael J. Klag said in his keynote speech that the MoU would strengthen the long cooperation between the school and the BKKBN.

'€œJohns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, through its various arms such as the Bill & Melinda Gates Institute for Population and Reproductive Health, the Center for Communication Programs, affiliated institutions like Jhpiego, and others, have had a long and fruitful history working with the Indonesian government, specifically with BKKBN and civil society groups,'€ Klag said.

Under the MoU, the school will provide financial and technical assistance covering four areas. The school will co-host the fourth International Conference on Family Planning, set to be held in Jakarta on Nov. 9-12, 2015.

'€œWe expect more than 3,000 delegates worldwide to come and join this premier gathering of experts, advocates, policy makers and leaders,'€ he added.

The school will also conduct a monitoring survey using smartphone technology and local enumerators to gather data on family planning and family welfare indicators related to the Family Planning 2020 goals. Expanding local advocacy approaches based on learnings from the Advance Family Planning project to more districts across the country is another focus area.

The partnership started in 1985 with the '€œCondoms 25'€ contraception program. The campaign combatted the taboo of buying condoms among members of the public by introducing a two-and-five finger gesture.  

It also covered other initiatives such as the Lingkaran Biru (Blue Circle) program, Bidan Delima midwife program, Desa Siaga (Alert Village), Suami Siaga (Alert Husband) and various other innovative programs.

Nina Sardjunani, deputy minister for human resource development and cultural affairs at the National Development Planning Board (BAPPENAS), said family planning was more than birth control and health programs.

'€œThe program involves quality human resources development, poverty alleviation and other social aspects,'€ she said.

She said empowering regional administrations across Indonesia was important. According to Nina, regents and governors must realize that family planning is a crucial part of any development program.

'€œHow can they provide healthcare services to their rocketing numbers of residents? It would be hard for them to provide jobs, education and health care if they have unskilled, unhealthy and uneducated human resources. Family planning is a means to improve the living conditions of Indonesian people,'€ Nina said.