Nusa Dua, Bali, Oct. 8 -- The Ministry of Population and Family Development called for regional governments' active role in reducing child marriage cases in the country, urging them to prepare their own plans to achieve the goal.

"District and city governments must have a strategic plan to reduce child marriage, rather than relying solely on the central government," said Bonivasius Prasetya Ichtiarto, the ministry's Deputy for Population Control here on Wednesday, on the sidelines of the Family Planning 2030 Asia-Pacific forum.

He noted that the age-specific fertility rate (ASFR) of adolescent girls aged 15-19 in 2024 stood at 18 births per 1,000 girls.

Ichtiarto further said that though the country's adolescent birth rate is projected...