In a proposal sent by the municipal people's committee on Monday to the Ho Chi Minh City People's Council, VND2 million for prenatal and newborn screening costs will also be provided to women from households in poverty or near poverty.
The move came after the city witnessed a low birth rate of just 1.32 children per woman in 2023.
The municipal people's committee also proposed offering certificates of merit and VND30 million in rewards for communes, with at least 60 percent of couples having two children before the age of 35.
HCM City is among 21 localities in the country that have witnessed a low birth rate (below 2.1 children per woman) for over a decade.
Following instructions from the Ministry of Health, localities can, based on the local budget, provide financial support to women with two children before the age of 35.
Some other southern Vietnamese provinces, including Hau Giang, Kien Giang, Ben Tre, Long An, and Bac Lieu, also have policies to reward women with two children before age 35 with between VND1-1.5 million. Ben Tre Province also rewards couples with two or more daughters who commit not to seeking a son to encourage the control of gender imbalance at birth.
Despite those efforts, the birth rate in Long An still decreased from 1.77 in 2022 to 1.68 in 2023 and is currently 1.64.
Hau Giang saw a slight increase from 1.51 to 1.52, and Bac Lieu from 1.46 to 1.53 but was still far below the replacement birth rate of 2-2.1 children per woman, which is needed to sustain a population. Meanwhile, Ben Tre maintained a birth rate of 1.62 over the past two years, lower than previous years.
Vietnam's fertility rate in 2023 was 1.96 children per woman, a drop from 2.01 the previous year and a replacement ratio of 2.1.
The Vietnamese General Statistics Office warns that, at the current rate, the country's population will decline for another 35 years after reaching zero growth by 2069.