Mothers Must Have Reproductive Right: Health Minister

Jakarta (Antara) - Health minister Nafsiah Mboi said mothers must have their reproductive right so that they could deliver healthy babies and younger generation. "This means every woman has a right to determine when she would like to be pregnant," she said at a mother's health campaign event here on Sunday. The campaign themed "Survive Five" was organized by "Wahana Visi Indonesia" with an aim of assuring that all children would survive to surpass five years old. The minister said the infant death rate in Indonesia has dropped but it must be further reduced as low as possible. "The big number of infant deaths are still found in remote villages due to access problems to health service and among out of wedlock pregnancies," she said. According the Indonesia demographic and health survey in 2012 the infant death rate was recorded at 32 per 1,000 births and 19 per 1,000 happens at a neonatal period from the date of birth to the age of 28 days. She said the government has set a target of lowering the number to 23 per 1,000 in 2015.(*)