JAKARTA, Indonesia, 13 June 2013: UNFPA welcomes the appointment of Prof. Fasli Jalal as new chairperson of the National Population and Family Planning Board (BKKBN), reiterating the Fund’s commitment to stronger partnership for advancing population and family planning programmes in Indonesia.

“UNFPA looks forward to working with Prof. Jalal for strengthening population and family planning programmes to enhance the health and wellbeing of Indonesian women, men and young people,” said UNFPA Representative, Mr. Jose Ferraris, after the inauguration ceremony.

Prof. Jalal fills the office left by Dr. Sugiri Syarief who retired in September 2012. The inauguration ceremony was held at BKKBN headquarters in Jakarta and officiated by the Minister of Health,  Dr. Nafsiah Mboy, in the presence of distinguished representatives from Government, Civil Society, Academia as well as BKKBN staff.

In her speech, Minister Mboy called on BKKBN to be more innovative in addressing family planning and population issues in the country, with its 237 million population according to the 2010 Population Census. She also highlighted the need for the family planning programme to be youth-friendly so as to empower Indonesian youth to make informed decisions about their lives and their future. BKKBN and the Ministry of Health, the Minister added, should work closely to ensure quality and accessible  family planning services throughout Indonesia.

BKKBN, as Prof. Jalal mentioned to the media after the ceremony, will enhance partnerships with various agencies in different sectors including education, health and with regional administrators and act as a facilitator to mobilize their involvement  in comprehensive population policies.

Prof. Jalal was the former Vice Minister of National Education from 2010-2011. He holds a PhD degree in Nutrition from Cornell University, USA, and has been awarded the Henry-Kauffman Prize for his contribution to advancing national higher education in 2011 and the Asia Pacific Consortium of Public Health Award. Prior to his assignment in the Ministry of National Education in 2001, he worked at the Bureau of Health and Nutrition at the National Planning and Development Board (BAPPENAS) starting in 1991. He has also worked as consultant with the World Bank, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

Prof. Jalal assumes the leadership of BKKBN during this critical period of mobilizing efforts to revitalize the national family planning programme. President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has expressed his commitment to position family planning as an important development priority at all levels in the country. The success of the   family planning programme in changing the mindset of Indonesians to adopt a small family norm has helped improve maternal and child health and has contributed to social and economic development. The family planning programme should build upon this success in order to face the challenges in the coming years, with a focus on the needs of young people, added the Minister of Health, Dr. Nafsiah Mboy.

Family planning will be integrated into health sector development. Targeted strategies will be designed to the meet the needs of different provinces, focusing on those with high population, with low population and those with health vulnerabilities with an aim to accelerate the attainment of MDGs in 2015, the Minister explained.***

Tags: advocacy