Some regions in Italy are offering incentives to improve the country’s falling birth rate. In the southern region of Puglia, low-income women 27-37-years-old can now receive up to €3K in public funding to freeze their eggs for future IVF, marking the first time Italy has used state money for preventative egg-freezing. Meanwhile, the national government is launching a €3.5M campaign encouraging young women to undergo fertility testing to help them plan motherhood earlier. These moves come amid a historic drop in Italy’s birth rate, now at its lowest since 1952, as the country faces a rapidly aging population and growing economic concerns. Still, critics argue that these efforts may have little effect without addressing broader financial and structural barriers to parenthood for young gens, like job insecurity, housing, and childcare. (Financial Times)
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