Gov’t proposes to standardize nursery operations to address birthrate decline

The president of the Social Welfare Bureau (IAS), Hon Wai, said the government proposes to standardize the services and operations of nurseries in Macau to address the declining birthrate, during the plenary meeting of the Women and Children Affairs Committee held on Monday.

“The next phase of the nursery services development plan will be implemented, covering a broad range of nursery services and including the standardization of nursery and education services,” Hon Wai stated.

The IAS president noted that the measure is in line with the government’s response to problems arising from the declining birthrate and complements financial support measures for families with infants and children, including an increased birth subsidy and childcare subsidies for families with children under age 3 who hold permanent identity cards.

The agenda also included the analysis of several reports from working groups, including participation in the 69th session of the U.N. Commission on the Status of Women and the Beijing+30 Asia-Pacific Ministerial Conference of the U.N. Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific.

Also discussed were brief presentations on children’s services provided by IAS and recent data on domestic violence in Macau.

Still on nurseries, the IAS division head, Lao Kit Im, presented specific provisions and guidelines for the Nursery Video Surveillance Program (covering children’s beds and activity areas), as well as plans for training nursery workers to obtain certification for their roles, aiming to improve local nursery services.

In a statement, IAS also noted that committee members presented opinions and suggestions on the decentralization of resources for women and children, implementation guidelines for the video surveillance program, measures to encourage birthrates, nursery location planning, adjustments to maternity leave days, prevention and combating of domestic violence, and strategies to increase youth participation in politics, among other topics.