Ho Chi Minh City women who give birth to 2 children before age 35 receive subsidies

Couples believe that there should be policies to reduce economic pressure on them to increase birth rates - Photo: DUYEN PHAN

Hearing the information that she was listed for support, Ms. TH (33 years old, living in Thu Duc City) said she was very happy. Ms. H.'s family already has two young children, the pressure of raising children is very great, especially the cost of food, school fees, medical treatment...

Small support, moral encouragement

"When we decided to have a second child, my husband and I calculated very carefully but still felt pressured. In addition to the cost of raising the child, when on maternity leave, the burden fell on my husband's shoulders because there was still monthly rent, and having another child added to the difficulty. During the first birth, my maternity leave had not yet ended but I still went to work to help with the family's living expenses," said Ms. H.

According to Ms. H., the current support of 3 million VND is only temporary support. In the long term, the city needs to have other policies to help couples feel secure about having a second child, such as having more preferential loan policies, creating conditions for couples to buy or rent cheap houses so they can feel secure about having children.

Similarly, Ms. NTTT (32 years old, living in Binh Thanh District) said she was very happy to hear this information. Although the support level is not much, it still encourages the spirit of mothers with two children like her.

While women who give birth to two children before the age of 35 and have their second child's birth date between December 21, 2024 and April 15, 2025 are being listed by the city to receive the first round of support, many people are asking why the second child must be born after 2024 to receive support, and those born the year before are not eligible?

Mr. Pham Chanh Trung - Head of the Ho Chi Minh City Population Department - said that Article 7 of Resolution No. 40/2024/NQ-HDND dated December 11, 2024 of the City People's Council regulating the reward and support policy for collectives and individuals who perform well in population work in Ho Chi Minh City stated that this resolution takes effect from December 21, 2024. Thus, December 21, 2024 is determined as the time when the policy begins to take effect.

Ho Chi Minh City is making a list of families with 2 children under 35 years old who will receive subsidies - Photo: QUANG DINH

More social security policies needed

According to Mr. Trung, women who give birth to two children before the age of 35, after the prescribed time of this first round of statistics, can still receive support from Resolution 40 through statistics in the next rounds.

Ho Chi Minh City continues to listen to people's opinions and feedback on appropriate solutions for implementing birth promotion. To solve the problem of low birth rates, the entire political system and the people's consensus and support are needed.

He also recognized that policy synchronization is the most important, so there needs to be more specific policies on social security,education , health care, living conditions, social housing, personal income tax... so that couples can truly feel secure in having children and having two children.

In particular, the education sector is currently in the process of implementing the People's Council's resolution on tuition exemption at all levels of education.

Experts assess that in the long term, to increase the birth rate (HCMC is currently the lowest in the country), people need to be assured that their children are born and grow up with a good quality of life.

To do so, investment must not only stop at supporting reproduction but also create an environment for the young generation to develop well, reducing economic pressure on couples raising children.

According to MSc. Ngo Van Huan, lecturer of the Faculty of Basic Theory, Ho Chi Minh City Academy of Officials, currently economic pressure, high living costs, along with changes in people's lifestyle and thinking have made having children no longer a priority for many families.

If this situation persists, the city will face a labor shortage, a rapidly aging population, and serious consequences for economic and social development.

Birth promotion measures need to be implemented synchronously, developing preschool and primary education, diversifying types of care for children under 6 years old, creating a safe and healthy social space.

In addition, build mechanisms and policies to reduce working time and reasonable working regimes for pregnant women and women taking care of young children, especially those giving birth to a second child or more.

Salary must be enough to live on, housing is no longer a burden

According to National Assembly delegate Nguyen Thien Nhan, for a family to have two children, the income of two working people must be able to support four people (two adults and two children).

Therefore, it is necessary to move from the minimum wage to a living wage for a family of four and increase the family deduction when calculating personal income tax.

In addition, the housing market is competitive and the State supports and supervises so that workers can rent or buy housing at acceptable prices.

Working conditions, maternity and paternity leave, salary and promotion regimes in enterprises must encourage marriage and childbearing, and not create conflicts between work and family and childbearing.

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Source: https://tuoitre.vn/phu-nu-tp-hcm-sinh-2-con-truoc-35-tuoi-duoc-tro-cap-20250509081751492.htm