STARH clarifies

STARH clarifies

Congratulations on your article exposing the challenges that low-income families face in getting hold of safe and reliable contraceptive methods (The Jakarta Post, Oct. 26, Birth control program faces test of time). The issue of accessibility to family planning services and contraceptive security should be brought forth to the center of the national policy debate, as it has implications for all Indonesians.

However, some of the facts presented in the article are inaccurate and they should be rectified. It is not true that Indonesia is experiencing a decline in the proportion of women of reproductive age using contraception. On the contrary, recent date from the Indonesian Demographic and Health Survey (IDHS) carried out by the Central Bureau of Statistics (BPS), shows that there has been an overall increase in contraceptive use among married women of productive age, from 57.4 percent in 1997 to 60.3 percent in 2003.

During the same period the proportion of women using contraception in Jakarta increased from 58.9 percent to 63.2 percent, so it is also incorrect to state that "Jakarta led the decline". In fact, Jakarta, with the highest population of the provinces in Indonesia, experienced a noticeable increase in the proportion of women using contraception, not a decrease.

FITRI PUTJUK, Advocacy & IEC Advisor, STARH Program, Jakarta

Note: The data in the article was provided by the National Family Planning Coordinating Board (BKKBN). -- Editor