‘Aisyiyah Cianjur Advocates for Reproductive Health Issues in Village Government Work Plan

With numerous reproductive health-related risks for women, including breast and cervical cancer, raising awareness on the matter becomes one of ‘Aisyiyah’s working focus throughout Indonesia. The lead is followed by ‘Aisyiyah Region Head (PDA) in Cianjur district through MAMPU-‘Aisyiyah program, last Wednesday (6/9).

The meeting between ‘Aisyiyah’s cadres and stakeholders from Warungkondang subdistrict, Cianjur, generated several proposals.

“One of the accepted proposals is the incorporation of reproductive health issues in the Village Government Work Plan in 2018,” explains Titin Suastini from PDA Cianjur. Titin continues that reproductive health needs to be present in the village policies, so that the issue can be a central and impactful matter in the community. All this time, Titin argues, reproductive health issues are still seen as a minority issue.

After made Ciwalen subdistrict as a pilot project for village policy on reproductive health issues, PDA Cianjur is approaching related stakeholders to replicate this effort in other villages.

“Thank God, from eleven other villages, five of them are willing to follow Ciwalen’s lead in creating village regulation on reproductive health,” says Titin. As a follow-up, MAMPU-‘Aisyiyah team in Cianjur plans field visits to the villages to be conducted within this month, to introduce reproductive health issues based on the request of the village head as the decision maker.

Breast and cervical cancer are among the largest causes of female mortality in Indonesia. World Health Organization (WHO) in 2014 records that nearly 49 thousand women are diagnosed with breast cancer, and more than 20 thousand women with cervical cancer. ‘Aisyiyah partners with MAMPU Program to drive the improvement of delivery and access to reproductive health services with women’s right approaches for dhuafa mustadh’afin (poor women groups).

(Coverage by Suri Putri Utami)