Government requests contraceptives on tick<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): The National Family Planning Board (BKKBN) has
\nrequested PT Schering Indonesia to advance 45 million sets of
\ncontraception pills worth Rp 50 billion (US$6.7 million) and
\ndefer payment until next week, company president Parulian
\nSimanjuntak said on Saturday.<\/p>\n
Simanjuntak said, however, he was confident the agency would
\npay its debt before then.<\/p>\n
\"We are sure that BKKBN will pay us in the near future,\" he
\ntold reporters on the sidelines of the company's one-day free
\nclinic at its factory in Kramatjati, East Jakarta.<\/p>\n
He said the company endorsed BKBBN's proposal for an advance
\nsupply of the pills because the agency had an inadequate stock to
\nbe distributed to government clinics nationwide.<\/p>\n
Early this year, BKKBN asked the company to supply 45 million
\nsets of contraception pills to meet the country's demand. BKKBN
\nissued a promissory note stating the terms of payment.<\/p>\n
Company director Sigfried J. Wagner told journalists that
\nBKKBN would pay the debt after it received a loan from the World
\nBank.<\/p>\n
\"Our company will surely ask for the payment, we cannot give
\nthe pills for free,\" Wagner said.<\/p>\n
PT Schering Indonesia, a subsidiary of Schering AG of Germany,
\nhas operated in Indonesia for 29 years. The company is known as
\none of the biggest suppliers of oral contraceptives and implants
\nto BKKBN.<\/p>\n
The company has upgraded its factory and operations in
\nKramatjati and is now worth US$10 million. It will be inaugurated
\nnext month.<\/p>\n
With the factory renovated, the company is expected to produce
\n60 million sets of contraception pills each year. Fifty percent
\nof the production will be exported to several countries in Asia.<\/p>\n
\"With our new equipment, PT Schering Indonesia can meet the
\ninternational standard for exports,\" Wagner said.<\/p>\n
He said Schering AG chose Indonesia as its production center
\nin Asia due to its worldwide competitive labor cost.<\/p>\n
On Saturday, the company held a one-day free clinic, which
\nprovided free contraception pills and a free implant
\ncontraceptive service, in the vicinity of its Kramatjati factory.<\/p>\n
One of the recipients, Eka, said she came to the event to get
\nmore information about contraceptives.<\/p>\n
\"I have been in the family planning program for four years.
\nBut I've never been informed about the benefits and weaknesses of
\neach method,\" she told The Jakarta Post.<\/p>\n
Another recipient, Sumiati, said she now wanted to use implant
\ncontraceptives after using pills for six years.<\/p>\n
\"I just want to try a new method, the implant contraceptive.
\nThat's all,\" she said, when reporters asked her why she was
\nchanging methods.<\/p>\n
Nurse Roosmina from Raden Saleh Clinic in Central Jakarta,
\nhowever, suggested that every recipient should be aware of the
\nnegative effects of each method.<\/p>\n
\"As a nurse, I have always checked with my clients whether
\nthey know about the effects of contraceptives on the body,\" she
\nsaid. (04)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/government-requests-contraceptives-on-tick-1447893297",
"image": ""
},
"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}