Government strives to avoid a baby boom, says Khofifah

JAKARTA (JP): Ever wonder the price of family planning in Indonesia?

According to the government it is at least Rp 41.7 billion in foreign debt due to the procurement of contraceptives in 1999 alone.

"As soon as we were hit by the economic crisis, the responsibility to procure contraceptives, which was earlier given to regional administrations, became the central government's duty and we were forced to use funds from abroad for that," State Minister of the Empowerment of Women Khofifah Indar Parawansa, who also chairs the National Family Planning Board (BKKBN), said here on Friday.

Khofifah stressed the importance of continuing the family planning program across the country by, among others things, making contraceptives readily available.

"We need to stabilize our population rate and avoid a baby boom," Khofifah remarked.

There was concern at the height of the economic crisis last year that Indonesia would see a sudden population boom, with many lower income couples dropping out of the family planning program due to financial constraints.

The country's birthrate is estimated at about 23.1 births per 1,000 people.

Khofifah pledged the government's continued support for the family planning program, saying one way to reduce the debt burden would be seek cooperation and grants in importing contraceptives.

While condoms remain the most readily available contraceptive on the market, they are the least used.

According to data from BKKBN, condoms make up less than 2.8 percent of the total number of contraceptive used.

"The most used contraceptives, however, are rare in supply," Khofifah said without specifying which type of contraceptive was the most popular.

In a related development, the Australian government on Saturday donated medical assistance, including medicines, medical equipment and contraception pills, worth a total of AU$5 million.

The assistance was symbolically handed over by Australian Ambassador to Indonesia John McCarthy to Minister of Health Achmad Sujudi.

The aid will be distributed to poor residents through community health centers in six provinces in eastern Indonesia: West Nusa Tenggara, East Nusa Tenggara, South Sulawesi, South East Sulawesi, Maluku and Irian Jaya.

Ambassador McCarthy said the aid was aimed at helping the poor and improving the national family planning program during Indonesia's economic plight. (jun/emf)