The proposed revised draft for the Indonesian Criminal Code (RKUHP) has been heavily criticized for discriminating against certain groups, including young people. Policymakers, confused by their strong intention to protect citizens, have ended up violating the reproductive health rights of the youth instead — or 26 percent of the population of 260 million. 

With a population growth rate of 1.49 percent per year, Indonesia’s population will reach 450 million by 2045. 

Ranked 108th out of 187 in the Human Development Index, Indonesia must strategize on improving human development outcomes in its early stages. Essential to this is reproductive health, which profoundly affects men and women’s health from infancy to old age — just one crucial issue to reflect on as we approach World Health Day on April 7. 

The...

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