Population hard to control

Population hard to control

KUPANG, East Nusa Tenggara: The local government conceded
yesterday that its efforts to check population growth has not
brought about the expected results.

Chief of the provincial population office Yoeswantoro said
that the failure to control the population growth rate is largely
due to people's low participation in the state-sponsored family
planning program.

"Every mother here has an average of four children, while we
have been encouraging them to have only two," Yoeswantoro told
The Jakarta Post.

He added, however, that residents' awareness of the need to
take part in the family planning program has improved over the
past several years. (pan)