MINSK, 18 March (BelTA) - Any popularization of the ideas of a childless couple in our information and cultural space is inadmissible, Natalya Kochanova, Chairperson of the Council of the Republic of the National Assembly of Belarus, said at the meeting of the expert advisory board under the Presidium of the Council of the Republic of the National Assembly of Belarus at the Minsk Scientific Research Center of Surgery, Transplantology and Hematology on 18 March, BelTA has learned.
“One of the challenges imposed on us from the outside is the new-fashioned Childfree subculture. Its essence is a conscious unwillingness to give birth and raise children. As our president says, there is a need to change the paradigm of such thinking. There are things that young people simply cannot understand because of their age. We, the older generation, can and must explain in time that life success and experience are meaningless when there is no one to pass them on,” said Natalya Kochanova. “Any popularization of the ideas of a childless couple in our information and cultural space is unacceptable”.
The same important are the issues of increasing life expectancy, reducing mortality and disability, preserving and strengthening reproductive health of men and women, accessibility and quality of medical services. “Over the years of our country's sovereignty a lot has been done in the healthcare system. This is the coverage of health care institutions, and screening and rehabilitation centers that help detect diseases at early stages, and the introduction of new methods of prevention, diagnosis, treatment and rehabilitation of diseases in healthcare organizations. We must not stop at what has been achieved in any case,” the speaker said.
An individual has always been the center of our country's state policy, Natalya Kochanova emphasized. “Today the state has taken a wide range of measures to improve the situation in demography, from organizational measures and financial to educational ones. At the same time, this issue continues to remain in the zone of increased attention and necessitates developing new solutions to stabilize and improve the demographic situation, increase the birth rate, strengthen the institution of family and marriage. After all, a strong family means a strong country in the future,” the Speaker noted.
“First of all, we need to pay attention to the coherence of actions in demographic security by all stakeholders involved in solving this problem. Representatives of the executive and legislative branches of government, public associations and citizens need to work together. Only together we will be able to preserve the inviolable postulates of the Belarusian state, where the national interests and well-being of the people are at the heart of everything. The issues of demographic security are of critical importance. It is our future. I believe that the recommendations developed today can be taken into account when we prepare the draft program ‘People's Health and Demographic Security’ for the next five-year period,” Natalya Kochanova added.
The expert advisory board under the Presidium of the Council of the Republic of the National Assembly of Belarus is a collegial advisory body. Its mission is to help the Council of the Republic to form a position on the most important issues for the state and society, to ensure comprehensive preparation of bills for the Council of the Republic, consider topical aspects of the development of legislation and draw up proposals for its further improvement.
On 18 March the board discussed Demographic Security in the Republic of Belarus: Trends, Challenges, Prospects. Last year, the boarded looked into the topics “On the application of legislation and measures in land reclamation and its efficient use” and “Ensuring sustainable regional development by developing import-substituting manufactures and using the mechanisms of their financial support”.
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