Various regions need to implement support measures to promote fertility friendliness, and multiple efforts are needed
2024-11-14
Not long ago, the General Office of the State Council issued the "Several Measures to Accelerate the Improvement of the Fertility Support Policy System and Promote the Construction of a Fertility Friendly Society", requiring the improvement of the fertility support policy system and incentive mechanism, effectively reducing the costs of childbirth, nurturing, and education, and creating a good atmosphere of respect and support for childbirth in the whole society. According to a survey by Xinhua Viewpoint reporters, many regions have implemented measures to support childbirth, including economic support, service support, time support, cultural support, etc. The first step in synchronously promoting various support measures is economic support. According to the National Health Commission, currently 23 provinces in China have explored the implementation of a maternity subsidy system at different levels, and more than 20 provinces have included assisted reproductive medical services in the scope of medical insurance payment according to procedures. In August of this year, the Communist Party of China and the representative assembly of villagers were held in Wujia Township, Yichang City, Hubei Province. It was clearly stipulated that villagers in the village who legally give birth to a second or third child will receive a certain amount of subsidy, with a reward of 20000 yuan for giving birth to a second child and 50000 yuan for giving birth to a third child or more. In October of this year, Shangyou County in Jiangxi Province issued regulations that "families who give birth to a second or third child and have already registered in our county after giving birth will be given a one-time reward of 7000 yuan and 13000 yuan respectively. Next is service support. In the nursing class of Youyou Nursery in Linping District, Hangzhou City, Zhejiang Province, crawling mats, baby beds, age appropriate toys, low rounded furniture, and other amenities are readily available. Five babies aged 6 to 12 months play with the accompaniment of caregivers. Hong Libing, director of the Hangzhou Women and Children's Health Service Center, said that research has found that parents have a high demand for childcare for infants and young children of different ages; At present, there are 4.7 childcare places per thousand population in Hangzhou, which is ahead of the target of the 14th Five Year Plan. Suzhou City, Jiangsu Province is accelerating the improvement of the "15 minute childcare service circle", and setting up customized classes such as nursing classes, small classes, large classes, and parent-child classes at community inclusive childcare points. It provides diversified services such as full day care, half day care, temporary care, and timed care, providing more inclusive and reassuring childcare services for the people nearby. Additionally, there is time support. It is understood that currently, various provinces generally offer around 15 days of paternity leave for spouses and 5 to 20 days of parental leave. Maternity leave in various provinces is generally extended to 158 days or more. After extending my maternity leave, I have 188 days. My second child will return to work at half a year old, and my physical condition has recovered better. I am much more relaxed than when I gave birth to my first child Ms. Zhang, who gave birth to her second child in April this year, has little concern about returning to work in November. There is also cultural support. In recent years, many regions have vigorously promoted the reform of marriage customs and deepened the transformation of customs and traditions. For example, Luanzhou City in Hebei Province is vigorously cracking down on prominent issues such as high priced dowries and large-scale events. A series of civilized new trends such as low priced dowries, zero dowries, and low-carbon weddings are quietly emerging. Sichuan Province guides various regions to establish a full chain marriage and family counseling system that runs through pre marriage and post marriage, actively maintaining harmony and stability in marriage and family; In 2023, the marriage registration authorities in the province held more than 80 "Happy Marriage Classroom" lectures, received 75700 people for marriage and family counseling, and successfully resolved 18000 marriage and family conflicts and disputes. In July of this year, at a special symposium held by the Guangdong Provincial Population Development Research Institute and the Guangdong Provincial Population Foundation, a set of data attracted the attention of the public. The symposium revealed that from January to June this year, the number of live births during hospitalization in Guangdong increased by 1.4% compared to the same period last year, and the downward trend in the birth rate may be expected to ease. Except for Guangdong, many places have reported a "rebound" in the number of births, including Qingdao in Shandong, Tianmen in Hubei, Baoji in Shaanxi, and Alxa League in Inner Mongolia, where the number of births increased in the first half of the year. In addition to the birth preference of the "the Year of the Loong", several interviewed experts said that the local fertility support policies have been launched, which not only cover the extension of maternity leave and the increase of economic subsidies, but also go deep into the expansion of childcare services, the improvement of medical security, and social and cultural guidance, so as to make childbearing friendliness more accessible and improve the childbearing willingness of people of childbearing age. In the first half of this year, relevant departments in Hangzhou conducted an evaluation of fertility support policies and distributed 5000 interview questionnaires; From the survey results, it can be seen that the most concerned issues for the general public are subsidies and education. The five measures to encourage childbirth introduced in Tianmen, Hubei in 2023 have shown initial results, and the number of births in the area has "turned from decline to increase" for the first time in 8 years. According to the policy of encouraging childbirth in the area, families who have a second or third child can enjoy subsidies of 96300 yuan and 165100 yuan respectively, including one-time childbirth rewards, childcare subsidies, and home purchase rewards. Starting from September 1st this year, Hangzhou will distribute childcare vouchers to families in the five districts and counties of Fuyang, Lin'an, Tonglu, Chun'an, and Jiande, with monthly subsidies ranging from 600 yuan to 1000 yuan depending on age. In September alone, 1294 people have successfully applied for childcare vouchers. Li Aiping, a parent from Rongda Kaiqi Nursery in Fuyang District, Hangzhou, said, "My granddaughter is 22 months old, and the childcare subsidy is 800 yuan per month, which has saved us a lot of money over the course of a year." Mi Hong, director of the Population Big Data and Policy Simulation (Workshop) Research Base at the School of Public Administration, Zhejiang University, believes that extending maternity leave, adding spousal paternity leave, and parental leave can help enhance family cohesion and reduce the burden of family care; The precise allocation of economic subsidies directly reduces the economic pressure on families with children and enhances their enthusiasm for childbirth. Peng Xizhe, director of the Population and Development Policy Research Center at Fudan University, stated that advocating for a new culture of marriage and childbirth can help society create an atmosphere of respect and support for childbirth, and enhance public willingness to have children. Further refine policies to ensure their effective implementation. The interviewed experts stated that in the current situation of low birth rates, building a fertility friendly society not only requires a good combination of measures at the national level, but also further refine policies, introduce multiple forces to participate, and ensure the effective implementation of policies. Many people of childbearing age lament that they cannot afford to have or raise children. Hong Libing suggests further reducing the costs of childbirth, education, and child rearing to alleviate the pressure and burden on young people; Build a safe, convenient, and humane environment for childbirth and parenting support, develop universal public childcare services, and encourage employers to provide childcare services for employees. As for the education of children and adolescents concerned by the society, Chen Wei, a deputy to the National People's Congress and vice president of Quzhou Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital in Zhejiang Province, proposed that the short-term birth tide after the opening of the second child in 2016 would send waves of enrollment pressure to primary and junior high schools. He suggested that relevant departments should strengthen the prediction of enrollment demand, carefully design enrollment plans and adjustment plans, and promote a more balanced allocation of compulsory education resources. Multiple interviewees suggested fully implementing family development plans, exploring the development of employment, pension, housing, taxation, and insurance systems based on families, and gradually exploring the establishment of comprehensive family welfare policies aimed at supporting and ensuring the full development of family members. Mi Hong believes that building a fertility support system requires the participation of social forces, encouraging enterprises, social organizations, and others to participate in the formulation and implementation of fertility support policies, and forming a good situation of government leadership and social governance; Establish an effective policy feedback and adjustment mechanism, timely collect opinions from the public, experts, and other parties, and dynamically adjust and optimize policies. (New Society)
Edit：Chen Jie Responsible editor：Li Ling
Source：Xinhuanet
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