New law links population to global issues

New law links population to global issues

Sari P. Setiogi, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The House of Representatives (DPR) Commission VII on health and
population plans to revise Law No. 10/1992 on population growth
and family welfare to catch up with global issues that have
emerged in the past several years.

Chairman of the commission Posma Tobing told The Jakarta Post
that there were several reasons for amending the law.

The existing law does not yet cover new global issues such as
gender, male participation in births, reproductive rights and
infertility, he said earlier this week.

"Our country is committed to several recommendations on global
issues formulated at international forums on population, such as
the 1994 International Conference on Population and Development
in Cairo, and the Millennium Development Summit 2000 in New
York," said Posma.

New articles will be added to the amended law, such as on how
to manage births, how to decrease the mortality rate and family
empowerment. Gender and population, as well as a chapter on
sanctions, will also be regulated separately.

Managing births is an important issue as it relates to family
welfare and qualified human resources. According to the
Indonesian Forum of Parliamentarians on Population and
Development (IFPPD), the government is targeting a zero
population growth by 2050.

To make it work, said Posma, male participation in managing
births should also be addressed in the new law.

Meanwhile, to improve people's welfare, the government should
also work on lowering the mortality rate, including maternal and
neonatal mortality rates, he said.

The chapter on family empowerment will focus on low-income
families so as to enable them to increase family incomes.

The draft amendment will be formulated by several experts on
population issues, such as Siswanto Agus Wilopo, deputy of the
Family Planning and Reproductive Health of the National Family
Planning Board (BKKBN), and Srihariati Hatmadji, chairperson of
the Demographic Foundation.

Chairman of the Medical Legal Committee of the Indonesian
Doctors Association (IDI) Herkutanto and vice president of the
Center of Population Study and Policy Sukamdi are also to be
involved in drafting the new law, which is expected to be
completed by September.

While awaiting the revision, Commission VII hopes that top
government figures across the country will become fully aware of
the importance of the issue.

"We can no longer enforce the law in the provinces, except
after the law has been revised," said Posma, "but since
population is a national issue, regional participation is
needed."

Executive secretary of IFPPD Ermalena said the population
issue should be at the center of a country's development.

"Population issues relate to many other areas, such as the
economy, health and education, as well as the environment," she
said.

Indonesia is now ranked 110 on a list of 158 countries on the
quality of life, which is determined by three factors: education,
health and family finances.