Tue 16 August 2022:
After further lifting the family planning policy to allow each couple to have up to three children, China is working to further create a fertility-friendly environment and the support policies.
According to China’s National Health Authority, the country would discourage abortions in order to increase its birth rate. China now has one of the lowest birth rates in the entire world, and the government is working to change that by enacting new policies including tax breaks and expanding access to reproductive treatments.
The NHA website states that the government is also working to establish several “infant care services and family friendly workplaces.”
According to official figures released by the World Health Organisation (WHO), China currently has a fertility rate of 1.16 – much below the 2.1 OECD standard for a stable population.
As a result, the Chinese authorities have decided to create public awareness in order to “prevent unintended pregnancy and reducing abortions that are not medically necessary.” They have also decided to invest in medical technology and make IVF more accessible and financially viable.
China had a strict one-child policy between the years 1980 and 2015 resulting in a massive demographic issue. While the policy was changed to two-child in 2016 and three children for married couples in 2021, the situation has not changed much when it comes to the birth rate.
The WHO data further said that around 9.5 million abortions were carried out in China between 2015 and 2019. On the other hand, the number of new births has dropped over the last ten years.
As a result, China is looking to boost the birth rate by “promoting the long-term balanced development of the population” and various financial and social benefits.
These policies, especially on house rentals or purchases, encouraging kindergartens with conditions to take in children from two to three years old and protecting women’s employment rights, if fully implemented, will help allay concerns of some families that are planning to have more children, Ma Li, former director of the China Population and Development Research Center said, noting that the guideline has not mentioned details on childbirth allowances, given the unbalanced development levels in different regions in China.
Many places in China have announced policies to encourage families to raise more than one child, including prolonged maternity leave, increased maternity allowances, and support for home purchases.
The Longwan district in Wenzhou of East China’s Zhejiang plans to offer families with a second child a 1,000 yuan monthly allowance, with 3,000 yuan for families with a third child, until the children reach 3 years old, local media reported.
SOURCE: INDEPENDENT PRESS AND NEWS AGENCIES
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