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Indonesia fails to honor family planning advocates

Rita Widiadana (The Jakarta Post)

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Kigali, Rwanda

Fri, November 30, 2018 Published on Nov. 30, 2018 Published on 2018-11-30T09:30:04+07:00

Two children are enough: Two children pass in front of a family planning program campaign mural at Kampung KB in Pucang Sawit, Surakarta, Central Java, on Nov.14. (Antara/Maulana Surya)

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n mid-November, 3,700 family planning advocates and representatives of governments, United Nations agencies, civil society organizations, academia, celebrities and promising youth leaders gathered in Kigali, Rwanda, to attend the fifth International Conference on Family Planning (ICFP).

The conference from Nov. 12 to 15 featured best practices and innovations in family planning programs, and also saw the strengthening of political and funding commitments as well as the monitoring of progress in family planning ahead of 2020. In two years, world representatives aim to ensure that all women, no matter where they live, have access to lifesaving contraceptives — a program called the Family Planning 2020 Initiative ( FP2020 ).

Indonesia has always been regarded as one of the world’s best role models for family planning programs; others are eager to learn our lessons.

Unfortunately, no official delegates from Indonesia attended the conference — in this case, representatives from the National Population and Family Planning Agency (BKKBN) and the Health Ministry. Ironically, Indonesia hosted the last ICFP in 2016 in Bali, where President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo pledged his commitment to revitalize family development programs by increasing budgets and strengthening their legal foundation.