The head of Macao’s oldest charitable society has put forward some suggestions for dealing with two of the SAR’s biggest issues: its ultra-low birthrate and rapidly aging population.
António José de Freitas is the long-standing president of the Holy House of Mercy (Santa Casa da Misericórdia de Macau in Portuguese, and known by its Portuguese initials SCMM). He recently submitted his proposals – which include boosting the allowance granted to new parents – to the government, Jornal Tribuna de Macau (JTM) reports.
Hong Kong gives its new parents HK$20,000 per newborn, while Macao’s birth subsidy amounts to just under 11,000 patacas per newborn (provided each parent is eligible to receive the 5,418 patacas on offer), José de Freitas pointed out to JTM.
“I suggested to the secretary [for Social Affairs and Culture, O Lam] that the subsidy should be at least 30,000 patacas,” he said. “If 1,000 babies are born, it would only cost the government 30 million patacas.”
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Macao is expected to welcome fewer than 3,500 babies this year, continuing decades of birth rate decline. The United Nations recently highlighted the SAR as having one of the lowest levels of fertility in the world.
According to José de Freitas, O Lam was receptive to his suggestion regarding the allowance. “Based on her response, I believe this will move forward,” he said. He also proposed expanding Macao’s 15 years of free education to include pre-school, which parents must currently pay for in most circumstances.
SCM operates two pre-schools, which José de Freitas described as seriously undersubscribed. “All of this stems from the low birthrate,” he told JTM.
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In contrast, the city’s high-needs elderly care homes have concerningly large waitlists due to surging numbers of elderly residents. Macao also suffers from a shortage of caregivers trained in elder care. José de Freitas said he had a “quick and effective” solution for this situation, too.
Parts of SCM’s Home for the Elderly, which currently only houses independent elderly people, could be converted into a nursing home, he proposed. Under José de Freitas’ plan, existing residents would transfer into the repurposed higher-needs rooms when the time came.
“Over time, [Home for the Elderly residents] inevitably become dependent – it’s the law of nature. Then what? They must return to their place of origin, with no guarantee of securing a spot in a care home,” he told JTM.
