Several districts/cities, for example, those in Central Sulawesi, have high stunting prevalence and have high TFR and age-specific fertility rate (ASFR)
Jakarta (ANTARA) - The National Population and Family Planning Agency (BKKBN) has said that the Family Planning (KB) service budget for procuring contraceptives is aimed at reducing the total fertility rate (TFR) in regions whose TFR is still high.

“Several districts/cities, for example, those in Central Sulawesi, have high stunting prevalence and have high TFR and age-specific fertility rate (ASFR),” BKKBN head Hasto Wardoyo said in a statement released here on Tuesday.

In Central Sulawesi, there are several regions whose stunting prevalence is above 30 percent, such as Buol, Banggai, Toli-Toli, Tojo Una-Una, Sigi, and Donggala, he pointed out.

Besides, there are regions whose high TFR is indicated by the number of children in families, for example, Buol. In the region, the ASFR is still below 20 years.

According to Wardoyo, in Buol, out of every 1,000 pregnant women, 53 give birth at the age of 15–19 years.

“In Sigi, 50 in 1,000 women give birth at the age of 15–19 years. Thus, the stunting (prevalence) is at 36.8 percent,” he added.

To this end, the budget is expected to be utilized well by regions to provide KB services and free contraceptives to couples that need them.

Wardoyo expressed the hope that raising the age of marriage, spacing births, and limiting the number of births through the optimization of contraceptive use would help tackle those problems.

Meanwhile, Coordinating Minister for Human Development and Culture, Muhadjir Effendy, asked all regions to measure the growth of children, maximize the fulfillment of sanitation and clean water, and collect accurate data to accelerate the reduction of stunting and eradication of extreme poverty.

If the regional budget (APBD) is not sufficient, regional governments must propose a budget accompanied by accurate data to the relevant ministries and agencies, he added.

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Translator: Hreeloita Dharma, Raka Adji
Editor: Azis Kurmala
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