HANOI, April 23 (Xinhua) -- Vietnam's Ministry of Health has proposed spending more than 1.8 trillion Vietnamese dong (about 71.7 million U.S. dollars) annually on cash incentives for childbirth as the country grapples with a decline in fertility, local media VnExpress reported Thursday.
The policy, if approved by the government, will take effect from July 1, with at least 2 million Vietnamese dong to be offered in cash or bank transfer to eligible women, who may receive combined benefits if they qualify for more than one group, according to the report.
Beneficiaries include women from small ethnic minority groups, those living in areas with fertility rates below the replacement level of 2.1 children per woman, and those who have two children before age 35.
The health ministry also plans to allocate over 2 trillion Vietnamese dong annually to cover congenital disease screening, said the report.
Health experts see the financial incentives as an urgent response to falling birth rates, with the national fertility rate declining from 2.11 children per woman in 2021 to 1.91 this year and expected to decline further. (1 Vietnamese dong equals 0.000038) ■