For almost 40 years fertility in Indonesia has declined steadily. The total fertility rate (TFR) declined from 5.6 children per woman in 1967-1970 to 2.6 children per woman in 2007. Much of the decline is due to an increase in the contraceptive prevalence rate (CPR) from 18% in 1976 to 61% in 2007. This reflects the success of the national family planning program in Indonesia implemented by the National Family Planning Coordinating Board (BKKBN). However, the policy of decentralization has brought fundamental changes to family planning program management since it was officially implemented in 2004. With decentralization, the BKKBN no longer has authority over regional governments because they have their own authority and right to make policies autonomously and to organize their budgets independently. The BKKBN cannot simply order local governments to increase their family planning’s budgets.
Furthermore, the decentralized government structure provides challenges for BKKBN in promoting family planning programs where they have stagnated. Commitment and support by regional governments for the family planning program varies depending on their perceptions of the importance of the program for their district. In 1997 (before decentralization), the
contraceptive prevalence rate (CPR) was 57.4 percent and in 2007 (after decentralization) it was 61.4 percent. Over a ten-year period, the CPR has increased by only 4 percent. This suggests a relatively weak performance of the family planning program in Indonesia after decentralization, even though the knowledge of contraception is high among married women.