17 September 2023 at 05:24 PUBLISHED
According to Public Health Minister Cholnan Srikaew, Thailand did address its declining delivery rate by prioritizing reproduction.
One of the” quick win” policies, which should go into effect within 100 days, according to Dr. Cholnan, who spoke after meeting with the ministry’s executive officials on Friday.
According to Dr. Cholnan, the current rate of births per 100,000 people is only 1.5, despite the fact that the correct birth rate may be 2.1. In other words, Thailand ought to give birth to around 2 million newborns annually, but only about 500, 000 do.
Low fertility may result in fewer people of working years and 20 % of the population being considered senior citizens. Thailand would then be considered a” super – aged” society.
He continued,” The ministry will introduce that the government support tuition expenses for second and third toddlers until they finish college, and also raise the monthly salary for a newborn child from 600 ringgit to 3, 000 bait until six years old. It will take time to solve the low birth rate, he said, adding.
Meanwhile, Dr. Prateep Thanakijcharoen, secretary-general of the National Health Commission Office( NHCO ), stated at a seminar on low fertility held on Friday by the Health Assembly that Thailand’s economy, society, and health will all be negatively impacted.
Additionally, more people have died than newborn children. In 2021, there were 560, 000 reported fatalities, and in 2022, that number increased to 595, 965, while the number of newborn infants continued to fall, from 540,000 to 502, 107 next month. According to Dr. Prateep,” If the issue is left unanswered, the resulting aging society may undermine the competitiveness of the business sector.” Thailand needs more youth to maintain its aging people.