Indonesia. B. The building of a successful population-family planning programme
Suyono, H.
Asian-Pacific Population Programme News 13(1): 25-27
1984
ISSN/ISBN: 0125-6718 PMID: 12313054 Document Number: 304800
Indonesia's population and family planning program is one of the most successful in the world, but much work must be done to meet the reduction in fertility targets set by the government. The goal is a birthrate of 22/1000 by the year 1990, a 50% decrease from the 1970 birthrate. With eligible couples entering the program at a rate of 600,000-750,000, a hard job lies ahead. The basic tenets which have made the Indonesia program strong will be used to meet the goals for 1990. The first of these is political commitment, meaning that all government leaders, from the President to the village chief, back the program and work actively for its success. Along with political commitment is the use of cultural values. The javanese society is feudal, in the sense that people try to respect elders, both leaders in the village and beyond. Thus, when the President speaks in favor of family planning, it carries considerable weight and significance. The village chief speaks favorably of family planning and that means the villagers are receptive to trying it. Another important cultural tenet is that of mutual help, or what is termed "gotong royong." This system goes back for centuries and forms the basis of village interaction. It is simply that people help each other for the common good. The National Family Planning Coordinating Board (BKKBN), with the help of the formal and informal leaders, has defined family planning as something which is for the mutual benefit of the entire community. A 3rd tenet of the program is flexibility. The BKKBN has continually experimented with various approaches. With flexibility comes some risk. The BKKBN has managed to maintain a system whereby it is possible to take risks, and this element of flexibility has benefitted the program greatly. Ownership is another important tenet of the program. The community feels that the program is theirs and that they can decide the activities of the acceptor groups and that they are responsible for maintaining and sustaining one another. The final tenet, which has aided in the development of a successful program, is that the BKKBN is the sole coordinator of the program, responsible for all family planning activities in both the public and private sector. These tenets and others will be used in the future in an effort to meet the 1990 targets.