Page 19 - Aspire April -2023 Vol 8 / Issue 2

TAIWAN
Assisted reproduction
subsidy program has
been expanded in
family friendly policies
By Professor Ming-Jer Chen Country Representative
Taiwan first began experiencing population decline in 2020 and the trend has continued.
In January 2023, the Ministry of the Interior announced that the population of Taiwan in 2022 was 23,264,640, a decrease of 110,674 from the previous year. The number of births in 2022 was 138,986, while the number of deaths was 207,230.
The reasons for Taiwan’s population decline are complex and multifactorial, but may include factors such as the high cost of living, restrictive house prices, limited access to affordable child care and changing social norms and preferences around child bearing and family size.
To address this issue, the Taiwanese Government has implemented various family friendly policies aimed at encouraging couples to have more children, including providing financial incentives, improving work-life balance and expanding access to child care.
Ming-Jer Chen
In May 2021, the Government expanded the assisted reproduction subsidy program. From July 2021 to February 2023, 97 of the 98 assisted reproduction centres across Taiwan submitted on-line applications on behalf of infertile couples.
Up to February 2023, the number of babies born to couples who accessed the assisted reproduction subsidy program reached 8,176.
However, legislator Ms Gao Jiayu pointed out in March this year that there were increasing numbers of women who wanted to have children, but were unable to do so.
Questions have been raised about opportunities for women to freeze their eggs at a younger age as a fertility preservation measure. But the Minister of Health and Welfare, Mr Xue Ruiyuan, has stated that aspects of the Assisted Reproduction Law would need to be addressed in this regard.
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