An archive photo
MINSK, 18 December (BelTA) – In his Address to the Belarusian people and the National Assembly on 18 December, Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko proposed creating a national mindset to tackle the demographic issue, BelTA has learned.
The head of state noted that all developed countries today are facing an unprecedented decline in birth rates and an aging population. Unfortunately, Belarus is no exception.
The president recalled that Belarus maintains leading positions in the world in providing medical care to mothers and children and has long sustained low rates of infant, child, and maternal mortality, which is a tremendous achievement. But that is no longer enough, Aleksandr Lukashenko believes.
To merely maintain the population size, families should have three children, the head of state emphasized. This statement was met with applause.
The president pointed out that in terms of material incentives, enough has been done. Expectant mothers are provided with free comprehensive medical care before childbirth, substantial child benefits, and family capital, and the country keeps daycare fees at the possible minimum, subsidizing them from the budget.
“But the reason is not always solely in economic measures. I often emphasize that you can’t force people to have children with money. And the experience of the last decade has confirmed this. The hardest part is dealing with the stereotypes promoted through the internet, movies, and advertising. We must also consider how the image of a successful businessperson unburdened by family, which is being created, influences the consciousness of young people,” Aleksandr Lukashenko noted. “We won’t break these global trends, nor will we shut ourselves off from them. The trend of non-traditional families is the same topic. And all of this looks like a global project against humanity.”
“But what prevents us from creating our own, national stereotype? We’ve been through this before. A Belarusian one. It’s time to put the mother figure back on a pedestal. Today she can be both a businesswoman and successful even with three or more children. Examples exist. In politics, in sports, in other areas,” the president said.
The head of state stressed that this is “a question of the future, ours and our descendants: there can be no Belarus, there can be no country of Belarus without Belarusians!” “We need people. This is the main issue, and I am speaking about it openly,” Aleksandr Lukashenko said.
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