Family planning campaign to continue
Family planning campaign to continue
JAKARTA (JP): On the eve of the birth of Indonesia's 200
millionth person, State Minister of Population Haryono Suyono
appealed to the nation to maintain the drive to curtail
population growth through family planning.
"We have to greet the arrival of the 200 millionth baby and
other babies that follow as a new source of development
strength," Haryono, who also chairs the National Family Planning
Board, said yesterday in a seminar on population development.
This in turn would determine the success of the country's
future development, he added.
He warned that in spite of the success of the national family
planning program, Indonesia's population would continue to
increase, probably reaching 260 million by 2119.
Indonesia's population tops the psychological barrier of 200
million today, according to government estimates.
To mark the occasion, President Soeharto has agreed to confer
awards on selected babies born today. He is also to name one of
the babies.
Several provinces vying for the honor have come up with
suggested names. North Sumatra is proposing Duta Rizki Putera for
a boy or Duta Rizki Puteri for a girl. East Java suggested Rahmat
Nugraha and Rahmi Utami and Central Sulawesi suggested Rahmat and
Rahmatillah.
The Office of the State Minister of Population plans to select
more than 8,000 of the babies born today across the 27 provinces
to receive awards as "role models" for other babies and families.
To qualify, the babies and their parents must meet certain
criteria. The baby must be born to legally married parents; the
mother must be more than 20 years old; it must be the first or
second living child in the family; if it is a second child there
must be at least a three-year gap with the previous child as a
result of the mother using contraceptives; the mother must have
received regular gynecological advice and the baby must be born
into a family from a good social background in terms of both
education and income.
Haryono said the national family planning program that began
in 1969 has cut Indonesia's annual population growth rate from
2.32 percent in 1971-1980, to 1.6 percent today.
Had the growth rate continued at the level it was in the
1970s, the population would be 217 million today and the 200-
million mark would have been passed in 1991, he said.
He recalled an even more frightening scenario imagined by the
late demographer, Prof. Dr. Iskandar, who once suggested that
Indonesia's population would reach 280 million in the year 2000.
The cut in the population growth rate has been achieved even
though Indonesia's death rate has declined faster than
anticipated.
"The ability to curtail population growth by almost 17 million
in 25 years is a great success," the minister said.
"This means that we have managed to reduce the 'burden'
represented by the number of people below 25 years old by 17
million. This number exceeds the population of Central
Kalimantan, or Sulawesi and Maluku combined, or almost twice
Jakarta's population," he said.
Haryono said the success meant reducing a large chunk of the
government's burden by having to provide 17 million fewer people
with basic health care, access to education, jobs, food and drink
and other facilities.
The huge financial saving also meant more money was available
to provide better facilities for the existing population, he
said.
Haryono said the slowing of the population growth rate is
expected to lead to "balanced growth" by 2005, or 2010 at the
latest.
This in turn is expected to lead to a zero-growth Indonesian
population, as envisaged by the United Nations and the World
Bank, by the middle of the 21st century, when the population is
estimated to stabilize at 350 million. (12/emb)