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Jokowi to open Family Day event in NTT in July
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Gearing up – National Population and Family Planning Board (BKKBN) chairman Surya Chandra Surapaty speaks to journalists in front of the agency’s office in Jakarta on Wednesday. He said the government aimed to reduce Indonesia’s population growth to 1.2 percent by 2019. (thejakartapost.com/Sepsha Dewi Restian)
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resident Joko “Jokowi” Widodo is scheduled to officially open an event for National Family Day in Kupang, East Nusa Tenggara (NTT), on July 30, according to a top official.
National Population and Family Planning Board (BKKBN) chairman Surya Chandra Surapaty said on Wednesday that the celebration was aimed at boosting the commitments of the central government and local administrations in supporting the creation of prosperous families countrywide.
“Apart from birth control, we also need to improve the quality of Indonesian people and revolutionize their characters starting from families,” he said.
To control the birth rate, Surya called on Indonesian citizens to marry after the age of 21 and to have only two children.
Indonesia needed to revitalize the National Family Planning program that was successfully implemented from 1970 to 1998, he added.
The BKKBN chairman explained that the family planning program had reduced the country’s total fertility rate from 5.6 to 2.6.
“The rate still needs to be lowered to 2.1 to avoid a population boom,” he said.
Currently, Indonesia's population growth is estimated at 1.38 percent. In the National Mid-Term Development Plan (RPJMN) 2015-2019, the government aims to reduce the country’s population growth to 1.2 percent by 2019. (sha/ebf)
