FAMILY PLANNING AND POPULATION ACTIVITIES (Plans for future manpower requirements)

Mr S. Vasoo asked the Minister for Health (a) what steps have been taken by the Ministry of Health to ensure that family planning and population activities are not affected since the closure of the Singapore Family Planning and Population Board; and (b) what are the plans on population activities in view of the future requirements for manpower.

The Minister of State for Health (Mr Yeo Cheow Tong) (for the Minister for Health): Mr Speaker, Sir, I am answering on behalf of my Minister.

The Ministry of Health has taken over all the family planning activities of the Singapore Family Planning and Population Board, and most of the Board's staff have been absorbed into the Ministry since 1st April 1985. The level of family planning activities has not been affected by this change.

The Ministry's Maternal and Child Health Service has all along been chiefly responsible for the provision of clinical services and will continue to do so. Education of the public on family planning has become part of the health education activities undertaken by the Ministry's Training and Health Education Department. Counselling of women to accept family planning and sterilization will continue to be provided in the clinics and hospitals. The evaluation of family planning programmes and the monitoring of birth and fertility rates are now being undertaken by the Research and Evaluation Section of the Ministry of Health.

The Ministry is concerned about the current level of fertility which is below replacement level. If this low level of fertility persists, Singapore will be faced with the problem of a declining number of births and, early in the next century, a negative population growth and a rapidly ageing population.

The Ministry has observed that the current low birth rate in Singapore is due to low fertility among certain sections of the population, those women with '0' and 'A' levels, Polytechnic and University graduates. This is attributable to a sizeable proportion of women remaining single or marrying at a late age and having less than two children. The Government is taking various measures to improve the pattern of marriage and the imbalance in procreation. These include the setting up of the Social Development Unit and the encouragement of public and private organizations to provide child care facilities. On its part, the Ministry has stepped up its counselling programme to advise couples to have two children before considering sterilization.

The Ministry is currently working closely with other Ministries to monitor the situation and to identify what further actions can be taken to raise fertility to replacement level.

Mr S. Vasoo (Bo Wen): Sir, could the Minister enlighten the House whether there is sufficient expertise to interpret the social demographic changes and its implications for social policy?

Mr Yeo Cheow Tong: To advise the Ministry on the interpretation of the data, we currently have demographers from the National University of Singapore as well as statisticians from several Government departments.