Curbing population growth a tough job

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.