~For: December 6th 2005

Quality Family Planning Conference Highlights Importance of Partnership

Ensuring that Indonesian couples have access to quality family planning services is the subject of a three-day conference starting in Medan on Tuesday, Dec. 6.

An expected 500 participants, including health professionals, government officials, NGO representatives and donors have been invited from seven provinces to the December 2005 Quality Conference, organized by the National Family Planning Coordinating Board (BKKBN) and supported and funded by the US Agency for International Development (USAID).

The conference is the latest highlight in a partnership between USAID and BKKBN that goes back 35 years. Now, after working together on one of the world's longest and most successful family planning and reproductive health programs, the Government of Indonesia and USAID are moving to a new phase. In September 2006, USAID will increase the population assistance money it provides to the BKKBN.

'A bridge between two countries'.

"The relationship between the Government of Indonesia and USAID is one of the most successful partnerships in this country," explains Monica Kerrigan, the senior advisor for Reproductive Health for USAID. "Throughout our 35-year collaboration with BKKBN, Indonesians have taken USAID's technical assistance and made one of the most successful programs in family planning, reproductive health and population in the world.

USAID is very proud of these achievements and we would like to honor and celebrate this with the BKKBN and with other stakeholders."

The former Chairman of BKKBN, Dr. Haryono Suyono is a founding father of the family planning program in Indonesia. He was also one of the driving forces behind the early teamwork. "It was a beautiful relationship underscored by excellent cooperation," says Suyono.

"There was a great deal of respect and trust on both sides. What is important today is not the money that USAID brought to the program, but the relationships that grew out of our shared goals. It wasn't just a bilateral commitment; our relationship was a bridge between our two countries."

Dr. Sumarjati Arjoso is the current head of BKKBN. Under her guidance, the national FP/RH program has built on its strong success.

The advancement of the mature population assistance program comes as USAID builds on its commitment to family planning and reproductive health across the archipelago with an integrated strategy for mother and child health.

"USAID supports Indonesia's commitment to the vital ongoing need for quality family planning that respects the choices and meets the needs of all families, explains Kerrigan.

Success through partnership

The Indonesian Family Planning Program is internationally recognized for its success in bringing down the average family size, increasing the use of contraceptives and improving the health of women and children.

In the 1960s, women were routinely having six children and at least two, on average, would die before reaching school age. Today, total fertility stands at 2.6 children per family and more than 60 percent of married couples use some form of contraception. But the gradual downward trend masks huge challenges that the leaders of the national family program and their partners first had to overcome.

"The biggest challenges were to make family planning acceptable in a social and cultural sense and create the demand for family planning, while providing quality services and creating an enabling environment so it could be made available in a very transparent, open manner," explains Kerrigan. "Through partnership, those three things have happened. Together we have built a family planning program that is laying the foundations for sustainable national development."

STARH Program

USAID has funded a special final-phase program that is being implemented by Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health Center for Communication Programs and Johns Hopkins' JHPIEGO.

The STARH (Sustaining Technical Achievements in Reproductive Health/Family Planning) program works with all stakeholders to improve the quality and choice of family planning options available to Indonesians, while advocating for continued government support. Capacity building, communication and the drawing up of new national standards have been the main areas of activity.

"The USAID funded STARH program have been a key part of our family planning strategy," explains Pak Mazwar Noerdin, the Deputy for Family Information and Program Policy Integration at BKKBN.

"Family planning is not a static issue. We are always looking for ways to tackle new challenges such as those presented by decentralization. In 2004, responsibility for family planning shifted from the national level to the regional level.

How do we ensure that the family planning needs of Indonesians are met? USAID has helped us throughout this period with the tools and technical expertise to help us find creative solutions to the country's constantly changing paradigm."

In Indonesia today, the Total Fertility Rate (TFR) is 2.6 - down from a rate of around 6.0 in the 1960s.

Partnership after graduation

As BKKBN looks forward to the new post-graduation phase, the coordinating body anticipates a strong ongoing relationship with USAID.

"We need to ensure that the advances we have made are sustainable," explains Pak Noerdin. "We need to learn as much as possible from USAID in the immediate months and we look forward to working with them in close partnership in the future."

USAID is also anticipating an exciting new chapter in relations. They will continue to support family planning through the Mother and Child Health program, while promoting Indonesia as an international leader in family planning and reproductive health. "This program has come along way. Now that it is mature we feel they should now lead the way. We don't see graduation as losing touch with BKKBN, rather it's a new approach to a shared challenge."

The Family Planning Quality Conference is being hosted at the Grand Angkasa Hotel in Medan. It runs from Dec. 6 to Dec. 8, 2005. ******** USEFUL WEB PAGES: www.bkkbn.go.id/ www.usaid.gov/id/about/bhs.html www.jhuccp.org/asia/indonesia/starh

RESOURCES www.kbberkualitas.or.id

CONTACT DETAILS:

STARH Program, BKKBN Building 1, 3rd Floor, Jl Permata 1, Halim Perdanakusuma, Jakarta Timor, 13650. Tel: (62 21) 801 6640, 525 2174; 525 2183 Fax: (62 21) 801 6649. E-mail: starh@jhuccp.or.id