The National Population and Family Planning Agency (BKKBN) has urged adolescents to plan their future carefully to achieve optimal results in life.
Planning must be carried out by adolescents from now on so that they can become parents that have the desired qualities, BKKBN official Putut Riyatno said in Padang, West Sumatra, on Monday.
According to him, the planning must cover education, work, starting a family, living in the community, and healthy life.
“This is what we are trying to build. With this planned generation, there will be no more children born stunted or failing to grow due to malnutrition,” he said.
Teenagers that have the best traits must be kept away from three things, which are early marriage, promiscuous behavior, and illegal drugs, he added.
“We invite the GenRe Ambassadors in all districts and cities in West Sumatra to be the ones who provide this information to the community, at least, starting from their (immediate) environment, school friends, and family,” he said.
He then said that ideally, the earliest age when women marry should be 21 years and men 25 years. Early marriage puts babies at risk, he added.
“What we are currently programming is that in 2045, where this nation receives a demographic bonus, where 40 percent of Indonesians are young and active. We have to optimize this together,” he said.
Meanwhile, West Sumatra BKKBN representative head Fatmawati said that GenRe Ambassadors have been appointed in every city and district in her province.
They are in charge of helping BKKBN socialize its program among teenagers, she added.
“They are agents in conveying messages to the environment, both regarding premarital education and information related to stunting,” Fatmawati said.
Source: Antara News