“Population Youth Plan” is the first executive document to support the family / Is the reason for the decrease in fertility an economic issue?
Family group – Zohreh Saeedi: It has not been more than a few days since the news of the approval of the plan to support the family and youth of the population in the Guardian Council, which also has supporters and critics in accordance with the plan. In this plan, many provisions such as infertility, support for young couples for childbearing, insurance for infertile couples and treatment costs, screening, etc. can be seen to see how much in the future to Will be implemented.
In the context of this plan With Mr. Mohammad Javad Mahmoudi, Chairman of the Population Studies and Monitoring Committee of the Secretariat of the Supreme Council of the Cultural Revolution and former Chairman of the Asia-Pacific Center for Demographic Studies and Research and a member of the Iranian Demographic Association, We have talked:
* Dear Mr. Mahmoudi, your opinion as an activist in the field of demography and studies in this field; How useful and effective can this population youth plan be in the field of childbearing in the future of Iran?
Well, if we want to be clear, this is the first law that is observed in the field of family protection and population growth and development in Iran, which considers the general policies of the population and is formulated as a document and will be applicable.
One of the most important positive features of this plan is having the responsible institutions in it, each of which must be active in different fields, and finally, it will have an executive guarantee.
Other important aspects of this plan include economic incentives for childbearing, support for families from all walks of life, such as housewives, mothers, employees, students, the private sector, tax exemptions, support for infertile couples, and the prevention of childbearing incentives. , Support for infertile couples and support during pregnancy and lactation, support for young couples and employment facilities, facilities for the first, second and third children such as housing and land mentioned.
* Do you think the provisions of this plan will be implemented to some extent?
Well, in any case, everyone is trying to be enforced because they have become law, even the people and the media should demand from the executors that these laws be enforced, and it should not be the case that the law decides the fate of some other laws to encourage Marriage and other cases lead and do not take place.
In any case, the issue of population is now a priority of the country and credit should be provided in this regard. It was to be allocated, which, of course, must now be allocated in full and in accordance with the law.
* You said in your speech that the law has an executive guarantee, what guarantees have been set for the implementation of this plan?
As I said, so far, the pursuit of population issues has not had a specific trustee institution, and with this law, the task of the institution in charge of population issues has been determined. The first article of this law states that in order to fulfill Note (7) of the fourth macro strategy of the country’s cultural engineering plan, in order to guide, plan, evaluate and monitor the implementation of this law in accordance with the approvals of the Supreme Council of the Cultural Revolution, the National Population Headquarters headed by The president is formed. The headquarters also has a secretary who is appointed by the decree of the President. In addition, the Supreme Council of the Cultural Revolution is responsible for evaluation, monitoring and monitoring based on its legal duties, and the provisions of this law in accordance with the approvals of the Supreme Council of the Cultural Revolution It is necessary to implement.
* Are only financial incentives enough to implement this plan?
No, we also know that material incentives alone are not enough to reform the structure, because people are not the only material problem for childbearing and the cultural, social and political issues that have been cultured for the people over the years, to control the population, and in these areas. To work.
The duration of the plan is 7 years, and if there are any problems or weaknesses during these years, it will definitely be corrected, and after fixing the problems, the plan will definitely become permanent after these seven.
Mr. Mahmoudi, what is the current growth rate of Iran’s population and what is the desired rate for Iran’s population?
According to the latest research in the country, the population growth rate of Iran this year will be less than 0.7%, while the number of children preferred by Iranian mothers is between 2.8 to 3 children. One of the purposes of approving this plan was to provide the conditions for the desired fertility by improving the economic, social and cultural conditions of the people. Fertility refers to fertility that is above the level of substitution in order to reduce the scope of today’s concerns about the future of the population.
The first paragraph of the general population policy is “promoting the dynamism, maturity and youth of the population by increasing the fertility rate to more than the replacement level.” The conditions of other countries have also been examined for this project.
According to the results of the census, the population of Iran at the end of the first half of 1400 reached about 84 million and 700 thousand people, while the population growth rate from 3.2 percent in 1365 to 1.29 percent in 90, 1.24 percent in 95 and 0.73 The percentage has reached 99 in the year.
With a decrease in births in the first six months of this year compared to last year, the population growth rate this year to less than 0.7 percent and a rapid decline in fertility rate from 6.5 children per woman in the 60s to 1.8 children in 90 and a slight increase to Two children reached 95 in the year leading up to the census, and we predict that this decline will increase in the coming years.
* Experience has shown that the problem for having children is not only economic issues, whether prosperous families who do not want to have children and eventually have a child and use other issues as an excuse, what is your opinion in this regard and what arrangements in this regard? Is the relationship considered in the youth plan of the population?
Yes, it is true that the fertility experience in Iran has shown that not all family planning policies that have led to population decline have been affected by the economic problem, but there are other conditions and factors that should also be considered, including young people’s attitudes towards It is about marriage and starting a family and having children. Therefore, social, economic and cultural variables should be considered for the country’s planners and policy makers.
Research of the Statistics Institute of Iran in 1994 on the attitudes of young people on the verge of marriage and married women between 15 and 49 years old towards having children and recognizing social, economic and cultural factors, taking into account the statistical population (sample of 12 thousand and 400 people) two groups Young people on the verge of marriage who go to the marriage education centers of the Ministry of Health, Treatment and Medical Education for premarital education and married women (sample 6,200 people) of the proposed age for medical examinations and vaccinations of children to health centers Urban and rural public refer, took place.
According to this research, the average number of children of young men and women on the verge of marriage was 2.4 and 2.2, respectively. Most of these young people, according to the research, were interested in having two children up to 60%, 14% were not interested in having a child and 1% were not interested in having a child.
The number of children preferred by young people on the eve of urban and rural marriage was 2.2 and 2.5 children, respectively, on average. 14.6% of young people on the verge of urban marriage and 9.8% of young people in rural areas were interested in having a child.
* According to this research, what other results have been obtained from the interests of women living in urban and rural areas in the field of childbearing?
In response to a question about the current number of children of these women, the results showed that the average number of children of the respondents was 1.7 children, but when asked if, in addition to the current children, several other children are interested in having, 34.6% tend to have children. They no longer had.
56.5% wanted another child, 7.8% wanted 2 children and 1.1% wanted to have three more children. Finally, the average of their favorite children was equal to 2.8 percent and the highest percentages were allocated to two and three children.
In response to your question, I must say that the women respondents in the city were interested in having an average of 2.7 children, and the villagers wanted three children.
* If you have a final point about this plan, please?
In my opinion, the purpose of this law is to protect the family and the youth of the population. Given that according to research, young people are also interested in having two or more children, if economic conditions, social and cultural attitudes improve, families can They can provide the minimum fertility that has been raised. Accordingly, concerns about the future of the population structure will be reduced and the level of fertility will be higher than the level of replacement.
End of message /
.