Jakarta, June 14, 2021. Many people still think that family planning is a woman’s duty and obligation. For this reason, it is undeniable that currently, the role of men in family planning programs is still very low, it is proven that only 3.12% of men use condoms and 0.5% do vasectomy for family planning programs. To address this issue, DKT Indonesia as the largest private organization focused on reproductive health and family planning in Indonesia cooperate with BKKBN (Indonesia Family Planning Board) initiated the ‘Pria Ber-KB Itu Keren!’ (Translation: Men who participate in Family Planning is Cool!)’ campaign.
President Director of DKT Indonesia, Mr. Juan Enrique Garcia expressed, “So far, we have realized that the main family planning burden is on the shoulders of women. In fact, the responsibility for planning a family, maintaining reproductive health, is the role of both parties, husband, and wife. As the head of the household, the husband must actively participate in the success of family planning, starting with the simple steps of using condoms and/or having a vasectomy”.
“DKT Indonesia always strives to communicate that gender equality can be achieved, one of which is also the willingness and ability of men to have awareness and responsibility for maintaining reproductive health and participating in using contraception, so that the burden of family planning is not only borne by women. For this reason, with the education campaign ‘Pria Ber-KB Itu Keren!’, we hope to attract the awareness of more men in Indonesia who want to participate in family planning,” said the President Director of DKT Indonesia.
Meanwhile, Sub Coordinator for Participation and Continuity of Men’s Family Planning BKKBN, Dr. Raymond Nadeak, M.H. (Kes) further explained “The participation of men in family planning programs in Indonesia has increased very slowly from year to year. This is due to various factors, including the lack of access to health services, social order, and negative rumors about the use of contraception for men”.
“Rumors negative as uncomfortable to use condoms, vasectomy can eliminate the machismo to cause erectile dysfunction is not right in society. For this reason, BKKBN has carried out various communication and information activities, including socialization and webinars to strengthen male family planning groups in the community. To date, there are 1,701 male family planning groups with a minimum of 10 members in each group. These members will then help to communicate the importance of men’s involvement in family planning,” said Dr. Raymond continued.
“The family planning affairs should be the responsibility of both parties. Especially during this Covid pandemic where the incidence of unplanned pregnancies has also increased by more than 10%”. continued Dr. Raymond.
“Meanwhile, it is undeniable that there are still many people who ignore the call to use contraception during the pandemic, even though pregnancy during the pandemic has various health challenges because access to health services is currently prioritized for treating patients with Covid-19 indications. In addition, increasing male participation in family planning can also reduce the high stunting rate,” added Dr. Raymond.
The campaign ‘Pria Ber-KB Itu Keren!’ is planned to be broadcast on 6 national TV stations throughout June, July, until August 2021 and reach 20 million Indonesians. The campaign in the form of public service advertisement tells about the lives of ‘Mr. Srah’ and ‘Mr. Ten’ who work as online motorcycle drivers.
Mr. Ten’s family tends to be more organized because he has done family planning, while Mr. Srah’s family looks more chaotic because he didn’t do family planning. At the end of the advertisement scene, there was an appeal from the Head of BKKBN, Dr. Hasto Wardoyo, Sp.OG (K) regarding the importance of male participation in family planning to prevent stunting. As we know that stunting prevention is currently one of the main agendas of Indonesian President, Joko Widodo in terms of Indonesian public health.
Visit http://bit.ly/kbpria to see more about the ‘Pria Ber-KB Itu Keren!’ campaign.
About DKT Indonesia
DKT Indonesia is a private organization that contributes to the largest family planning program in Indonesia, which has been present since 1996 by presenting four contraceptive brands: Sutra condoms (1996), Andalan Contraception (2000), Fiesta condoms (2003), and also Supreme Premium Condoms (2018). In 2019, DKT Indonesia strengthened its role in the reproductive health industry, by presenting Andalan Feminine Care, and making Andalan a One Stop Solution for Women Healthcare. DKT Indonesia successfully protects more than 8.5 million couples annually from unplanned pregnancies and contributes to family planning programs and the prevention of sexually transmitted infections including HIV/AIDS.
Website: halodkt.com
Facebook: @halodkt
Instagram: @halodkt
Twitter: @halodkt
Media Contact:
Nurul Jannati R.
Communications Manager
(e): nurul@dktindonesia.org
(m): +62 81229 111 254
