Fathers with many children in Belarus will be exempted from compulsory military service

August 16, Minsk /Elena Prus - BELTA/. Fathers raising three children will be exempted from compulsory military service, said First Deputy Minister of Labor and Social Protection Petr Grushnik at a press conference today, BELTA correspondent reports.

This is provided for by the National Program of Demographic Security of the Republic of Belarus for 2011-2015.

"In the sphere of increasing the birth rate, the emphasis is placed not only on traditional measures but also on new incentives," emphasized Petr Grushnik. "This includes the introduction of preferential crediting for in vitro fertilization procedures for married couples suffering from infertility (today there are about 14-15% of such couples), the development of a social patronage system for families with disabled children, and a number of others."

The country is entering a period of reduction in the number of women of reproductive age, noted the First Deputy Minister. By 2015, the total number of women aged 15-49 will decrease by more than 168 thousand people. "In these conditions, the focus of the birth rate stimulation policy should be shifted towards families who want to have more than one child," said Petr Grushnik. "Today, this is our main reserve for increasing the birth rate, and it is extremely important not to miss it."

To achieve this goal, the program provides for a set of incentives - from housing affordability to the possibility for a woman to choose whether to stay at home with her child or go to work. If a family can maintain its usual lifestyle and standard of living when giving birth to a second or third child, this will be the best incentive for family growth, summarized the First Deputy Minister.-0-