Indonesia's family planning programme: swept aside in the deluge?

A year after the collapse of the Thai currency signalled the start of the financial crisis of Southeast Asia, newspapers throughout the region carry a steady stream of speculative articles on the likely impact of the crisis on the social, cultural and economic welfare of millions of victims. Among the fears is the possibility that two decades of progress in providing family planning services and reducing fertility could be reversed by economic depression and government upheaval. Howhere is this fear more prominent than in Indonesia, the fourth most populous nation, and largest population of adherents of Islam in the world. This paper both questions and confirms the notion that the Indonesian family planning programme is in trouble. It is in trouble, but the troubles are rooted in problems long predating the current economic crisis. Ironically, both the crisis and the political and economic reforms called for by a newly activated public, may lead to long term improvements in the quality of health and family planning services.