Concerned about the soaring number of teen pregnancies, Health Minister Nafsiah Mboi has told the National Population and Family Planning Board (BKKBN) to intensify its birth control campaign nationwide.



“The rising fertility rate among teens is dangerous. It could increase maternal and infant mortality rates,” Nafsiah told reporters on the sidelines of a national meeting of the BKKBN on Wednesday.



Data collected for the 2012 Indonesian Health and Demography Survey (SDKI) said the number of mothers aged between 15 to 19 years had risen to 48 per 1,000 women in 2012, from 35 per 1,000 in 2007.



Nafsiah said that the sharp increase highlighted the failure in the family planning program.



“We are targeting to bring down the fertility rate to 30 per 1,000 women in 2014 and in order to meet the target, we need to have more comprehensive cooperation between the...