More babies please: Singapore to provide ‘additional’ support for newborns during pandemic

KUALA LUMPUR (Oct 7): The Singapore government will introduce a “one-off additional support for newborns” to “encourage” couples who are postponing parenthood owing to the challenges brought about by the Covid-19 pandemic, Channel News Asia (CNA) reported on Monday.

“This is fully understandable, especially when they face uncertainty with their income,” the city state’s Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat was reported saying during a ministerial statement.

Heng revealed that this support “will be on top” of the Baby Bonus Cash Gift worth up to S$10,000 (RM30,541).

For those interested about what the goodies are, Heng said details will be provided by Minister in the Prime Minister's Office Indranee Rajah “soon”.

According to a recent CNN report, Singapore has one of the lowest birth rates in the world. The fertility rate among Singaporeans is just 1.14 births per woman.

The World Bank said that this “places it level with Hong Kong”. Only South Korea and Puerto Rico have lower rates.

The Singapore authorities have over the decades “attempted unsuccessfully reverse” this trend, said CNN.

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