Curbing population growth a tough job
Fitri Wulandari, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
The National Family Planning Coordinating Board (BKKBN) now has a new chief, Yaumil Agoes Achir, who has assumed the duties of Khofifah Indar Parawansa.
Yaumil, soft-spoken psychology professor, is no stranger to BKKBN. Born in Pangkalan Brandan, North Sumatra, Taumil, 61, has spent years as assistant to the state minister for population from 1993 to 1998.
Her previous posting was deputy secretary of the Vice President. Still a lecturer at the school of Psychology at University of Indonesia, she sees her present position like that of a teacher -- setting examples and sharing knowledge.
What follows is an interview with Yaumil.
Question: Can you explain your vision and mission as the new BKKBN chief?
Answer: I want to change the wrong perception that family planning deprives people of their right to choose, and that the government plays the dominant role.
This perception remains very apparent. Many women's rights activists still think that the BKKBN pressures women to take part in family planning.
I will push for more in advocacy, education, communication and distribution of information. People can make their own choices after they get the information.
Q: How do you view the BKKBN's performance so far?
A: I think Ibu Khofifah has done her job very well. The BKKBN is a very solid organization at 30 years old. It has strong structure. It works well, thanks to its vast networking with our field officials available from the provincial cities all the way down to the villages.
I don't have any intention to make any changes. Cooperation with other ministries, NGOs and donors will be strengthened.
I am open to suggestions and evaluation.
Q: Do you have new ideas to improve BKKBN performance?
A: Not really new. I want to continue Ibu Khofifah's effort to increase men's participation in family planning. I am going to approach organizations such as the association of Indonesian employers (Apkindo) and all Indonesia Workers Union (SPSI) for cooperation.
Besides, we still have to improve our communication and human resources development. The use of the condom and vasectomy are still unpopular due to cultural constraints, misperceptions and limited access.
More medical officers will be trained.
Q: BKKBN has shifted its priority from family planning to improving the quality of family life. Does that mean maintaining low population growth is no longer a priority?
A: We don't change either policy or priority. Family planning and quality family are like two sides of a coin. People would throw rotten eggs at me if I only ran one program and neglected the other. Both programs support one another.
In a quality family, there is population control. Reasonable population growth is maintained by older marital age ... No one should get married at the age of 13 or 14 anymore.
Health and education will be improved for better awareness on family planning. In a smaller family, people can improve their health because there are not so many mouths to feed.
Q: What is the projected population growth?
A: Until 2000, the population growth was set at 1.5 percent per year. According to the 2000 census, the growth was 1.35 percent per year.
Assuming growth will continue to decline, the growth is estimated to stagnate by 2020. Then the family size would be around 2.0 to 2.1. That means each family will have two children. So the population growth remains stable.
Q: Was there any significant change in the average growth rate prior to and during the crisis (of 1997-1998)?
A: The population growth has also been declining during the crisis. In 1998, population growth was 1.6 percent. In 2000, it was down to 1.35 percent. Family size was down from 2.8 in 1996 to 2.5 now.
This shows that family planning has not been affected by the crisis. BKKBN programs do not experience a setback. We believe that, in the future, population growth will decline proportionately.
Q: How do you plan to tackle poverty?
A: I will stick to the existing programs, which affect millions of people. The revolving funds in the community have reached Rp 1.3 trillion from Rp 800 billion when the program began in 1992.
At present, we provide a very soft loan to 560,000 groups. It affects the life of at least 33 million people. The groups have various activities to improve their family life, starting from simple things such as sewing.
Around 60 percent of these groups have been successful, the rest have either failed or not been properly developed.