Proposal to support social housing for women who give birth to two children: Practical but not enough!

According to information from the Ministry of Health, the national fertility rate is trending down below the replacement level, from 2.11 children/woman in 2021 to 1.91 children/woman in 2024. This is the lowest fertility rate in history and is forecast to continue to decrease in the following years. The main reasons are believed to be the increasingly improved living conditions, increased educational levels along with the costs of raising children, housing, education, and increasing economic pressure, causing many couples to delay or not want to have more children. In that context, the proposed social housing support policy for women who have two children is considered one of the practical birth promotion solutions, targeting the right target groups in need of support, which are young families, middle and low income, living in large urban areas or industrial zones.

The Ministry of Health is seeking comments to complete the draft of the revised Law on Population and proposes that women who give birth to two children in industrial parks, export processing zones and provinces and cities with low birth rates will be entitled to social housing support policies according to Government regulations. Many opinions say that this is a practical proposal to encourage couples to have children, contributing to the achievement of population goals.

Ms. Nguyen Thi Huyen's family lives in a rented house in Xuan Dinh ward, Bac Tu Liem district, Hanoi .

In reality, in many young families, we see that couples want to have more children, but due to economic conditions, especially housing problems, they are forced to postpone their plans to have a second child. For example, in the case of Ms. Nguyen Thi Giang (34 years old), who is renting a room in Ngoc Thuy ward, Long Lien district (Hanoi), since having a child, she and her husband had to move to a larger room with a rent of 6.5 million VND/month to have space for their child and grandparents to support. The income of nearly 20 million VND/month of the couple is only enough to raise their child and daily living expenses. Therefore, although they want to have another child, the pressure of money makes them postpone their plans. Ms. Nguyen Thi Huyen (30 years old) is renting a ground-floor house of only about 30 square ^meters in Xuan Dinh ward, Bac Tu Liem district (Hanoi) and shared: “Every month, just for the tuition fees of our two children, my family has to spend about 6 million VND. Add the rent, living expenses, diapers, milk, medicine... and that is all the salary of both husband and wife. Without the support of the State, the dream of owning a small house in the city for people from the provinces like us is very difficult to come true.”

Similarly, although their daughter is 4 years old this year, Nguyen Thu Trang (36 years old) and her husband in An Hai Tay ward, Son Tra district (Da Nang) still do not dare to think about having another child because they do not have a house yet and their income is only enough to live on. According to Trang, in addition to living expenses and raising children, housing is the biggest pressure for her family and many of her friends living in big cities. "A small apartment currently costs from 2-3 billion VND, which is out of reach for my husband and I. If the proposed housing support policy for women who have two children is approved, it will be a great motivation for us to have another baby," Trang added.

According to Professor, Dr. Nguyen Dinh Cu, former Director of the Institute of Population and Social Issues (National Economics University), the proposal on social housing support policy for women who have two children is appropriate and practical but not enough. The country and society cannot develop sustainably if the trend of being lazy to have children, or even not having children, spreads. Changing such a major trend requires the State to have a comprehensive, synchronous policy and persistently implement it in the long term. “Along with the social housing support policy, the State needs to support reproduction, infertility treatment, flexible working regimes for parents with young children, tuition incentives, childcare services... Because children who grow up not only bring benefits and happiness to their families but also become soldiers to protect the Fatherland, work for businesses, and build the country”.

The proposed social housing support policy for women who give birth to two children, if properly designed and implemented, could be an important link in the effort to increase the birth rate and ensure social security in our country. However, for this policy to be effective as expected, there must be inter-sectoral coordination and a systematic and transparent roadmap. At the same time, the policy must also be placed within the overall long-term population development strategy so that children are born and grow up in a stable environment, with housing, health care services, education and employment opportunities.

Source: https://baolangson.vn/de-xuat-ho-tro-nha-o-xa-hoi-voi-phu-nu-sinh-du-hai-con-thiet-thuc-nhung-chua-du-5049281.html