World Bank Document

successes. It has played a majorThe banjars of Balirole, for instance, in helping tosubmit ideas for new campaigns, and spread education; in eradicatingIndonesia's family planning program funds are quickly provided for the ones smallpox and sharply reducingcombines central direction with decen- approved. The program has also made several major diseases (includingtralized implementation. The program use of the private sector-traditional yaws malaria, leprosy and Africanhas strong political support from the travelingherbvendors(calledtukanjamus) ,president, to whom its chairman reports have been enlisted to supply contraceptives sleeping sickness); and, perhapsdirectly. Family planning is an integral to remote villages as well as urban areas. most significantly, in increasiringpart of national and provincial develop- In the province of Bali, the traditional the production of basic foods.ment plans-ministers and provincial community council (called banjar) has On the other hand, some aidgovernors are responsible to the president been harnessed to promote family plan- programs have failed-or havefor their execution. And the program ning. For centuries banjars have beenmaintains a central data system to monitor the hub of village life. There are more succeeded while indirectly conperformanceand ensure that no region than 3,700 of them today; adult men in tributing to inappropriate policies.or even village runs short of contracep- Bali belong to their village banjar and Until the early 1970s, there wastives. But the task of implementing specific attend monthly meetings. In 1974 the an emphasis on showcase univergoalsrests largely with provincial and governmentinBalistartedtoworkthrough sities, large urban hospitals andlocal staff, and political and community banjar leaders to create an awarenessleaders in the villages. of family planning, to identify people large-scale agriculture-consistentThe program offers strong (but non- who might be keen on planning their with development thinking at thatmonetary) incentives for managers and families, and to help them do so. Typically, time. Not surprisingly, such interstaffat all levels, because it was designed the monthly banjar meeting now begins national assistance involved transtogivecreditforsuccesstolocalmanagers.with a roll call; each man responds by ferring some technologies orMost of the contact with families is by saying whether he and his wife are usingvillage volunteers. The program rewards contraceptives. Replies are plotted on a institutions from developed counthem,too-outer-island midwives can village map-prominently displayed. tries without adequate recognitionearn trips to Bali for training, while The results have been striking. An of how the circumstances of de-Balinese chiefs whose villages have estimated 49 percent of eligible couples veloping countries differed.made the most progress in family plan- have adopted family planning in Bali, Since the benefits of human deningare taken to see the successful East compared with 29 percent for the countryJava program. as a whole. The World Fertility Survey velopment are received partly byThe approach is tailored to specific showed that the average number of today's children but even more bylocal needs; it fosters local initiative and children a Balinese woman could expect their children and grandchildren,experiments with unconventional projects. to have had fallen from 5.8 in mid-1969 governments that are hard pressedPeople at provincial and village levels to 3.8 in 1976. financially may find it difficult tojustify spending as much on humanimproved earning opportunities and goats, selling the milk and development as is desirable forfor educated women, lower infant controlling the proceeds them- long-run economic growth, letmortality rates and a rising age selves. By selling cooperatively, the alone for alleviating poverty. Thisat marriage will help parents to members get higher profits than dilemma-which will be acuteprovide more for all their children they otherwise would. Families are during the next few years of finanandto have fewer of them. fed better. More of the children cial stringency-is one for whichWithout these sorts of change, are now attending school. And as external assistance can be particuitis difficult to affect the way food, the younger educated women are larly helpful. Many other measureseducation and medical care are seen to be taking a greater part in -from small-farmer programs toshared within families. But it is running the cooperative, education power generation and industrialnotimpossible. Door-to-door in- for girls is becoming more highly ization-are also needed to reduceoculation campaigns can reach all valued. In dairy development poverty and raise average incomes;children. This has been done projects in three other Indian these merit strong internationalrecently in Mozambique and states-all based on this model- support as well.Sierra Leone. And the way work similar results are being obtained. If donors providing assistanceis organized will also affect inequal-to a country are unwilling toities within families. For example, International assistance finance human development protheAnand Dairy Cooperative ingrams, these programs in mostIndia increased the income re- International aid for human de- cases will be smaller than theyceived directly by Indian women velopment programs has been otherwise would have been. Simi--since they have traditionally been provided for decades and has larly, if donors are willing toresponsible for looking after cows contributed to several notable finance only "bricks and mortar"80