China Provides New Mothers With Daily Milk And Cash Incentives To Fight The Falling Birth Rate

Following a drop in the birth rate, China is encouraging new moms to have children by providing daycare subsidies and free milk.

As China battles a shrinking population, the capital of Inner Mongolia, Hohhot, has implemented a number of childcare subsidies and support initiatives to promote births. One of the incentives is a special program that gives new mothers a free cup of milk each day.

For the previous three years, China’s population has been declining, and in 2024, it will continue to do so. The nation’s history of stringent birth regulations, such as the one-child limit that was in effect from 1980 to 2015, is a significant contributing cause to this decline. Furthermore, many young couples have been deterred from beginning families by the rising expense of raising children and the fast urbanization of the world.

According to the official Xinhua news agency, over 20 provincial-level governments have implemented childcare subsidies in an effort to buck this trend. Additionally, increasing birth rates has been a national objective for the Chinese government. As part of larger initiatives to solve the demographic issue, Premier Li Qiang announced childcare subsidies and free preschool education earlier this month.

Families can benefit financially from Hohhot’s new policy:

First child: 10,000 yuan ($1,382.51) one-time payment

Second child: Until the child is five, a 10,000-yuan yearly subsidy

Third child: Until the child is ten, a 10,000-yuan annual subsidy

These advantages are significant inducements for couples thinking about starting a family because they roughly double the yearly income of locals.

Hohhot has also started the “One Cup of Milk Fertility Care Action” to promote maternal health. Mothers who give birth after March 1st will be eligible for a complimentary cup of milk each day under this program.

A 3,000 yuan electronic coupon that can be used at China Mengniu Dairy and Yili, two significant dairy enterprises, will also be given to new mothers.

Marriage rates in China fell by 20% in 2024, the largest reduction on record, even though birth limits were lifted in 2021 to allow couples to have up to three children. The possibility of establishing a nationwide childcare subsidy program is one of the additional measures that authorities are now considering to lessen the financial strain on families.

China expects that these incentives will encourage more young couples to start families, slowing the country’s demographic slide, with local governments like Hohhot setting the example.