Draft bill #12184 of November 6, 2024

Cosponsors: 16 MPs from the European Solidarity and Servant of the People factions, the Trust and For the Future groups with Oleksii Honcharenko as the first signatory

Who is affected: families with children, the Ministry of Social Policy, and the Cabinet of Ministers

Status: sent for review to the Committee on Humanitarian and Information Policy

Summary: childbirth assistance will be calculated based on the subsistence minimum for children under 6 that applies on the day of the child’s birth

  • childbirth assistance will be equal to 105 subsistence wages (currently 269,115 UAH) and paid in parts:
    • a one-time payment of 25 subsistence wages (64,075 UAH)
    • the remaining assistance will be paid over 3 years in equal installments (5,688 UAH per month)
  • the Cabinet of Ministers will define the payment procedure.

What is right: childbirth assistance is correlated with the subsistence wage for children of the corresponding age. The subsistence wage reflects the actual costs needed to meet the basic needs of a child, including food, clothing, hygienic products, and medical services. This correlation will help to adjust the payment amount to inflation and rising prices.

Why this is important: an increase in childbirth assistance is significant, but it is not enough to substantially stimulate birth rates. A comprehensive approach is needed, which includes financial support, infrastructure development, enhanced social guarantees, flexible working conditions for parents, and a stable economic policy.

Background information: at the beginning of October, the Cabinet approved the Demographic Development Strategy prepared by the Ministry of Social Policy.

Additional information: