Govt Urged to Promote Use of IUD Contraceptive

Govt Urged to Promote Use of IUD Contraceptive

Medical experts on Tuesday urged the government to heavily promote the use of intrauterine contraceptive devices as they were best suited for most Indonesians.

Djajadilaga, head of family planning and abortion at the Indonesian Society of Obstetrics and Gynecology (POGI), said that IUDs were one of the most effective forms of birth control available, but were not being promoted heavily enough.

“IUDs have no contra-indications like other forms of birth control, such as the pill or injections,” he said at a discussion on the use of contraception to reduce the nation’s maternal mortality rate.

More women die as a result of childbirth in Indonesia than in any other nation in Southeast Asia. According to the Health Ministry, some 229 women died for every 100,000 births in 2009.

Some medical experts hope that a rise in birth control will reign in the nation’s maternal mortality rate.

According to Unicef statistics, only 57 percent of the nation’s women use contraception.

Todd Callahan, the country director for DKT Indonesia, a nonprofit organization that focuses on family planning and HIV/AIDS prevention, said IUDs had never gained popularity as a form of birth control here because of a lack of promotion.

“The Indonesian government has tended to promote the use of short-term birth control methods such as pills or injections,” he said at the discussion.

IUDs have a failure rate under typical-use conditions of just 0.8 percent. Condoms fail 15 percent of the time, studies have shown.

Djajadilaga said that to raise public awareness about IUDs, doctors would have to explain the benefits to patients.

“It’s very important that a doctor explains all there is to know about IUDs because there are so many different types and everyone has different needs,” he said.

“We also need to counter the myths about the pluses and minuses of IUD use, including the misconception that it causes vaginal bleeding.”

Another benefit of using IUDs, he said, was that couples using it could still conceive anytime after removing the device.

“Unlike with the pill or injections, the use of IUDs will not delay the time to conception,” he said.

Sugiri Syarief, chairman of the National Family Planning Coordinating Board (BKKBN), agreed that IUDs were the ideal form of contraception for Indonesians, not least because of their low price.

“IUDs range in price from Rp 15,000 to Rp 2 million,” he said.

“This it might appear expensive at first, but it works out much cheaper when you consider that it’s for long-term use. The government currently runs a program offering IUDs to the public at a subsidized cost of Rp 15,000.”

The lack of awareness aside, Callahan said the initial expense of buying the device and getting it fitted was one of the factors that may be putting many people off using IUDs.

“But the thing that makes IUDs appear more expensive is the [fee for the] doctor’s service, which is sometimes more expensive than the IUD itself,” Callahan said.

Reproductive Health 101 For Students

Reproductive Health 101 For Students

"The World Starts With Me” is the title of the first chapter of a series of interactive modules developed by the World Population Foundation, which aims to teach Indonesian adolescents about sexual and reproductive health.

The WPF has been looking into the issue locally since 1997, in response to research that showed there was a high degree of reproductive health problems and gender-based violence in the country. The Dutch nongovernmental organization aims to provide Indonesian teenagers with balanced information about sexuality, reproductive health and gender issues.

One of the WPF’s most recent projects is the creation of interactive computer programs. One such program is called “My Exciting Teenage World,” or “Daku,” in which students are made aware of topics related to reproductive health through learning modules like “Is Your Body Changing Too?,” “Fight for Your Rights,” “Love Shouldn’t Hurt” and “Pregnancy: Notes for Boys and Girls.” Each module is introduced by virtual hosts. The program also makes use of quizzes and other activities.

The Candle of Knowledge Foundation (YPI), a local organization supported by the WPF, has been promoting the “Daku” program since 2005. With the WPF’s assistance, YPI has trained around 50 teachers from 24 senior high schools throughout Jakarta.

“We personally approached 50 high schools in Jakarta to talk about the program, which is made available for free, but only 24 agreed to adopt the program,” said Sari Hapsari, the program manager for YPI.

Titi Yuli Munaf, a guidance counselor from SMK Negeri 16, a vocational school in Central Jakarta, said she read about the program two years ago and convinced the school’s principal to adopt it.

“The program is exactly what the students need, especially those in their final year in school,” Titi said.

However, because the school has a limited number of computers, only 40 students were able to follow the interactive computer programs provided by the WPF. The other students were given lessons using a printed 16-chapter module.

In 2007, the WPF introduced similar interactive sex education programs for students with disabilities. One of the programs, “Reproductive Health Media for Deaf Youth” (“Maju”), is now being used in three schools that specialize in teaching the hearing impaired.

Siti Rahayu, the principal of Santi Rama school for the hearing impaired in Cipete, South Jakarta, said that she was skeptical of the WPF program at first.

“I wondered if they knew what they were talking about,” she said. “But when we started working together and preparing the modules, I began to think that the subject matter was good for our students.”

Nanik Sri Wahyuni, a reproductive health coordinator at Taman Harapan vocational school for the blind in Keramat Jati, East Jakarta, said the program fit the needs of the students because they were involved in shaping it, along with reproductive health experts and school officials.

“We prepared the material together with the WPF,” Nanik said. “To make the program more suitable for students, the project was developed with the help of students themselves. In fact, two students from our school participated in preparing the program.”

In discussions with students, Nanik discovered that a number of students at the school between the ages of 14 and 18 were sexually active.

“I found it unbelievable that they were already sexually active at that age,” Nanik said. “But now, I hope things begin to change because the students are better informed about sexuality. Sometimes when they go out on a date, their friends remind them, ‘Hey, don’t forget chapter seven,’ which talks about love and sexuality.”

In addition to school-oriented projects, the WPF also introduced “Seru,” or “My Source of Information on Adolescence,” a sex education computer program designed for boys in juvenile correctional institutions and already being used in Tangerang, Medan and Blitar. The foundation also developed the “Me and You” program, a social skills course for preschoolers, which focuses on gender roles and the prevention of sexual abuse.

The WPF programs are now being run in 12 provinces — including West Nusa Tenggara, North Sumatra, East Kalimantan, Jakarta, Yogyakarta, Central Java, East Java and Bali — but the foundation hopes to expand its reach nationwide in the future.