BKKBN Anticipates Birth Rate Burst Due To Pandemic, Through 'Klik KB' Application

JAKARTA - The COVID-19 pandemic has changed the way we interact, including in family planning (KB) services or reproductive health. In order to respond to new habits, the National Population and Family Planning Agency (BKKBN) developed the "Klik KB" application.

"This application will connect directly between family planning acceptors and midwives and allow acceptors to get interactive information or counseling in this application," said Head of BKKBN Hasto Wardoyo as quoted from Antara, Tuesday, August 18.

Hasto said that contraceptive use has decreased quite drastically during the COVID-19 pandemic. This increases the number of unwanted pregnancies.

At the national level, he said, the percentage of unwanted pregnancies reached 17.5 percent. This means that every 100 people get pregnant, 17 of them are pregnancies that are not accidental from couples of reproductive age (PUS).

Hasto said that the decline in contraceptive use in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic was caused by various things, including the concern of family planning acceptors to use health facilities, the presence of providers who did not open services or obstructed access to service places due to Large-Scale Social Restrictions (PSBB).

For this reason, contraceptive services to couples of childbearing age must be carried out to meet the goals of family planning, namely delaying pregnancy, maintaining spacing between births and ending fertility.

"BKKBN with new innovations we have principles in a new way in a new era for the new generation because BKKBN realizes that the majority who become important targets for creating a superior generation for advanced Indonesia are those born and aged 40 years and under," he said.

Therefore, as an effort to reach PUS in order to obtain information, then get contraceptive services and maintain their participation, BKKBN developed the "Klik KB" application.

He hopes that this application can help the Population Family Development Program and Family Planning (Bangga Kencana) in an effort to find out the needs of fertile-aged couples for the type of contraception so that it can provide input for program policies.

It is also hoped that the availability of contraceptive tools and medicines can be monitored so as to prevent shortages of supply in health service facilities. In the future, "Klik KB" will be developed in stages through predetermined phases and the number of health workers according to the capacity according to that phase.

Currently, as many as 2,000 midwives are involved as service providers throughout Indonesia and counselor midwives who will be in charge of providing consultations through the "Klik KB" application.

Then 2,000 other midwives are also being prepared for Java and Bali. The socialization was also carried out in stages. The first stage was socialized in 7 provinces, the second stage was 12 provinces and the third stage was 15 provinces.

He hopes that the application will bring family planning and reproductive health services closer to the community because the use of technology is currently an important thing in accommodating the changing times that are fast and dynamic, including in contraceptive services.

"Hopefully, with this application, the ultimate goal of forming a safe, peaceful and independent family can be achieved through family planning," said Hasto Wardoyo.

The plan is that "Klik KB" will be launched by BKKBN to commemorate World Contraception Day which falls on September 26. This day is celebrated as 'World Contraception Day' which is a global campaign with the vision that every pregnancy is a planned pregnancy.

World Contraception Day was launched in 2017 with the mission of increasing knowledge about contraception and providing information to the public so they can understand and make the right decisions regarding their reproductive health.