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Indonesia Province Offers Cash Incentives for Vasectomies to Fight Poverty Among Low-Income Men

This Week

Indonesia’s West Java Governor Dedi Mulyadi has announced a birth control initiative requiring men from low-income households to undergo vasectomies in a move to reduce provincial poverty.

Vasectomy involves cutting or blocking sperm-carrying tubes to prevent pregnancy, creating permanent sterilization that can sometimes be surgically reversed, though success isn’t guaranteed.

Speaking at Depok City Hall, West java province in late April, Dedi outlined the program’s key features: weekly vasectomy services every Wednesday, a IDR 500,000 (about USD 30) cash incentive, and mandatory sterilization for poor families seeking government assistance including electricity connections, food aid, scholarships, or public housing.

West Java Governor Dedi Mulyadi speaks with reporters at Depok City Hall, West Java, on 29 April 2025. (Beritasatu.com/Fahri Ali)

Eligible men must be 35 or older, healthy, have at least two children, and obtain spousal consent. West Java defines poverty as living on IDR 535,000 (about USD 33) monthly or less.

Dedi explained that the province had observed many poor families continuing to have a fourth or fifth child, even though childbirth expenses range between IDR 15 to 25 million (around USD 1,000 to 1,700), which such families are unable to afford. 

He emphasized, as reported by the Jakarta Globe, that parenthood demands financial readiness.

The proposal sparked immediate backlash from Islamic leaders. 

Indonesian Ulema Council head Cholil Nafis condemned it on social media, stating “Islam forbids permanent sterilization” and arguing poverty should be addressed through job creation, not population control.

The policy has also ignited fierce debate in Indonesia, a Muslim-majority nation of 281 million people-the world’s fourth most populous country. 

West Java alone has 49.9 million residents, roughly equal to South Korea’s population.

The World Bank’s Updated Global Poverty Lines: Indonesia. (source: World Bank)

World Bank data from April shows 60.3 percent of Indonesians, approximately 171.8 million people, live below the poverty threshold of USD 6.85 per person per day.

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