Cabinet on Wednesday approved an action plan on demography and family policy for 2019-2020 as part of efforts to address a falling birth rate.
A recent study by the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) for 2017 found Cyprus was the country with the lowest total fertility rate in the world in 2017.
According to the study, a woman in Cyprus had one child on average in 2017.
The association of large families last week urged the government to offer support and incentives or risk seeing even fewer children.
According to an official announcement, the action plan submitted by Labour Minister Zeta Emilianidou among other includes a review of current family support programmes so as to identify and address gaps. It will also look at the possibility of offering incentives for families to have two or more children.
Also under consideration is partly subsidising parental leave, subsidising IVF, operating centres for the protection of mothers and welfare of children and creating facilities for children in the afternoons and during holidays that will be easily accessible and safe.
Also on the cards are flexible working hours to facilitate a balance between family and work life, particularly for working mothers, the announcement.
The plan will also review the child’s benefit to offer additional incentives for a second children.
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https://in-cyprus.com/cyprus-the-lowest-fertility-rate-in-the-world/
