The Bhutanese Leading the way.
The current government’s pledge to give Nu 10,000 per month to a third child till the child turns three is one of the most discussed pledges.
It has been learnt that this pledge will now be incorporated under the larger program of, ‘an inclusive and comprehensive social protection system,’ already listed in the 13th Five-Year-Plan (FYP) and to be spearheaded by the Cabinet Secretariat.
As per government directives, the Third Child pledge will be a part of the Sustainable Population Development Plan (under social protection) where Nu 10,000 per month will just be one aspect of it.
The Sustainable Population Development Plan will have both soft things, like policy changes, and hard things, like money, with the main aim of addressing the low population growth.
The policies could be things, like flexible working environment for working mothers, crèche, baby sitter or home helper accessibility, remote working, matching working hours with childcare hours, ECCD support, addressing barriers to child adoption, implementation of non-discriminatory workplace policies and fostering shared responsibilities, and ensuring conducive conditions for childbearing.
Under the plan, the Third Child policy aims to take advantage of a demographic window in the next three to five years by targeting a young cohort of people or families with child bearing age who may have currently two children, but are young enough to have a third child. The aim is to make it targeted and data driven. Things like people delaying marriages or keeping a long gap between children are also being looked at.
Apart from policy, the other aspect is financial support, and for this, Bhutan is actively seeking support.
An official said that the aim is to first get some aid to get the Third Child pledge rolling in a targeted manner, as a pilot project, and once there are results then it can be shown to raise more funds, and once there is a major impact, then the government will even invest domestic resources.
All of the above is thought to be a smarter and more result oriented way of doing things than just throwing billions to fulfill a pledge with an uncertain impact. This is especially so when there is no assured funding for the pledge.
A study done on the matter based its projection on the number of third child born in the last five years. The study shows an average of 2,100 children born as the third child every year over the past five years.
The projection shows a cost of around Nu 6 billion (bn) for the five years from 2024-2029, with the initial years having fewer pay outs but it increasing with each year.
One of the outcomes targeted in the 13th FYP for the above is maintaining a sustainable population scenario.
The Sustainable Population Development Plan and the Third Child Policy under it will not move in isolation, but both will be placed under the larger umbrella of the, ‘An inclusive and comprehensive social protection system,’ for which Nu 2 bn is budgeted in the 13th FYP. The Nu 2 bn does not include funding for the Third Child which is yet to be raised.
An official said that social protection will focus on areas, like the disabled and old age, and would essentially take a life cycle approach, from birth to schooling to livelihood to ageing and the gaps in between. Bhutan is a welfare driven society, but the government, at the same time, does not want to make people lazy.
Apart from the disabled and the old age, another area being looked into is unemployment, in terms of helping people between jobs. Although the Nu 2 bn is budgeted, however, the aim is to see what works, and accordingly invest more.
The social protection will work in tandem with the population development plan, as better social protections will give people more confidence to have children.
UNICEF has helped design a framework and Asian Development Bank has been approached for technical assistance.
The government wanted to launch the Third Child scheme on The Gyalsey’s birthday, but expert advice was taken to delay it and come up with a more comprehensive strategy. The final program will also incorporate the Accelerating Mother and Child Health program money (launched by the former government) given to pregnant mothers who come for health checkups before birth and immunizations after birth.
UNFPA help has also been sought and it has engaged experts and given its recommendations.
The first draft for the social protection and population development will be ready by June 2025 with the aim to roll it out by July 2025.
