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s rapid population growth remains one of the biggest challenges facing Indonesia, the National Population and Family Planning Board (BKKBN) is seeking greater participation from local communities in Kampung KB (family planning villages), an initiative aiming to boost knowledge and awareness of the concept of a small but happy and prosperous family in society.

Four programs have been developed by the BKKBN to strengthen Kampung KB in areas across the country. The programs aim to raise knowledge, skills and understanding of mothers in nurturing their children; to equip teenagers with better emotional management and moral understanding; to help families create small businesses and to support the elderly.

“We need help and guidance from related authorities, such as the Women’s Empowerment and Child Protection Ministry, to strengthen people’s involvement [in Kampung KB activities],” said BKKBN chief researcher Muhammad Dawam on Monday.

He said people in local communities would often only pay attention to programs or policies delivered by institutions with higher authority.

“More effort is needed to make people realize the importance of the program. Many people seem uncomfortable with the program’s name — Kampung KB — as if it is only about contraceptive-related matters, while in fact, the program’s work scope is beyond that,” he told The Jakarta Post.

The BKKBN initiated the development of Kampung KB in mid-2016 based on President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo’s order, which refers to Law No. 52/2009 on demography and family planning development.

Kampung KB aims to support the agency’s work to improve the potential and quality of Indonesian human resources through empowerment of families and their livelihoods, while at the same time lowering the country’s total fertility rate (TFR).

TFR in Indonesia dropped to 2.4 in 2017, after staying at 2.6 from 2002 to 2012, according to the latest Demographic and Health Survey (SDKI) released last week.

Meanwhile, the country’s contraceptive prevalence rate stands at 63.6 percent in 2017, up from 61.9 percent in 2012, showing an increase in people’s access to contraception.

Dawam said the BKKBN was now focusing its attention on expanding the presence of Kampung KB in areas across Indonesia, while at the same time striving to improve the quality of the program’s activities.

In 2017, the government targeted to set up one Kampung KB in each district in the country, while this year, it is expected that one Kampung KB will be available in each subdistrict, followed by one Kampung KB in each village in 2019.

As of the third quarter of 2017, the BKKBN has built 5,505 Kampung KB in 4,754 subdistricts, or 66 percent of all subdistricts in the country.

With a 2.4 TFR recorded in 2017, the BKKBN needs to work harder as it has set a TFR target of 2.3 by 2019. The agency has also targeted to lower the rate to 2.1 by 2025 in its efforts to decrease the country’s population growth rate to 1.19 percent for the 2015 to 2020 period.

The Criminal Code (KUHP) bill being deliberated at the House of Representatives may hinder the BKKBN’s work to achieve its family planning targets as the bill is set to criminalize the act of showing contraceptive devices, according to Risfan Suyedi, BKKBN research and development division.

Several articles in the bill stipulate that only authorized and appointed officials are allowed to make presentations showing contraceptive methods and procedures to the public.

Although they will not face imprisonment, those violating the law will be subject to a hefty fine amounting to Rp 10 million (US$740).

According to KUHP National Reformation Alliance data gathered in cooperation with the UN Population Fund, only 17 percent of reproductive health information and 8 percent of HIV and AIDS information comes from the government, which would be insufficient if not for the assistance of volunteers in educating more people. (sha)