The National Population and Family Planning Board (BKKBN) and PopCom of the Philippines began their official cooperation in 2014 with the signing of the first agreement. With both parties agreeing to continue the cooperation, an extension was signed on July 5, 2019 by Head of BKKBN and the Executive Director of the Commission on Population and Development in South Kalimantan, Indonesia. They agree to cooperate on the following areas: population dynamics; family planning; adolescent reproductive health in humanitarian and Islamic setting; gender equality related to family planning and reproductive health; and institutional capacity building. The agreement’s execution involves the State Secretariat Ministry of the Republic of Indonesia and UNFPA Indonesia under a south-south cooperation framework. Under this scheme, the parties exchange information, knowledge, and skills. One example was a training for Islamic boarding schools, or pesantren, on their strategic role in reproductive health education for adolescents. The participants were given new information and taught new skills to build their advocacy strategies and IEC materials that are suitable for their stakeholders.
