Jakarta – Indonesia's population will jump to 255.6 million people by 2015 if the contraception rate remains constant, a senior demographic researcher says.
University of Indonesia' Demographic Institute director, Sonny Harry B. Harmadi, said Wednesday that the contraception rate had stagnated during the last seven years because contraceptives were difficult to access.
"Only 67 percent of the total number of fertile-aged couples are participating in the national family planning program," Sonny told The Jakarta Post. He said the contraception rate should increase by at least 1 percent per year to prevent a baby boom.
"A 1 percent increase in the contraception rate would add between 500,000 to 600,000 new family planning participants. This would be a quite significant number toward preventing a new baby boom in Indonesia," he said, referring to the country's first baby boom in the 1980s.
The national census this year counted 237.6 million people in Indonesia, up from 205.1 in 2000, ensuring the country will remain the world's fourth largest population after China, India and the US.
Indonesia's population growth rate stood at 1.49 percent per year from 2000 to 2010, higher than the Central Statistics Agency (BPS) estimate after the 2000 census of 1.34 percent per year.
Sonny said the government might not be able to prevent a baby boom without revitalizing its national family planning program. It needs to increase its budgetary allocation to provide an adequate supply of the contraceptives direly needed by fertile-aged couples, especially those in the low-income bracket, he added.
Citing the latest report from BPS, he said the country's population growth had reached 1.49 percent per year, surpassing the government's initial target. "It is alarming," he said, adding that this figure signaled that Indonesia was close to its second baby boom.
The National Family Planning Agency (BKKBN) head Sugiri Syarief said that Indonesia might prevent a new "baby boom" only if the family planning program ran well.
Citing an example, he said that the government might provide free contraceptives in all provinces as part of its effort to revive the family planning program.
Thus far, the government has been giving out contraceptives for free in only six provinces: East Nusa Tenggara (NTT), Papua, West Papua, Maluku, North Maluku and Aceh. Sugiri acknowledged that the family planning program had been stagnant since the beginning of 2000. "We have been putting too much focus on decentralization issues and neglecting the family planning program," he told the Post.
The latest BPS census this year, however, had reminded the government of the need to revive the stalled family planning program.
Soemarjati Aryoso, a medical expert, said the population growth had significantly increased because many fertile-aged couples preferred to use short-term contraceptives, such as pills. "It is better to use IUDs. It is safer," said Soemarjati, a former BKKBN chairman. (ebf)