Malaysia's First National Subfertility Centre In Shah Alam Will Start Running In 2029
This is part of an effort to reverse Malaysia's declining fertility rate.
In an effort to combat declining fertility rates, the government aims to build Malaysia's first National Subfertility Centre in Shah Alam
According to the Malay Mail, construction of the centre will commence in 2024 and will cost approximately RM171 million to complete. The centre is also expected to start operating in 2029.
These details were provided by Women, Family, and Community Development Minister Datuk Seri Nancy Shukri at the opening of the 2023 National Population Conference (PERKKS 23) in Putrajaya on 21 November.
Nancy also added that the centre is to be built as existing subfertility clinics run by the National Population and Family Development Board (LPPKN) can no longer meet demand
To achieve its goal, the new centre will be designated as a comprehensive destination offering fertility and family well-being treatments, as well as become an institute for research, accommodating the industry's latest technologies and training methods.
The decision to build a new facility was made amid drastically slowing birth rates in the country, and was approved as part of the 12th Malaysia Plan
Nancy highlighted that in 2022, Malaysian women only gave birth to 1.6 children on average, a sharp drop from the rate of 6.7 children per woman in 1957. The figure for 2022, she confirmed, was the lowest ever recorded rate in 50 years.
"If the fertility rate continues to decrease at the current rate and no intervention is taken to deal with this situation, the country's population is expected to reach a maximum number of 46 million people in 2071 before experiencing population shrinkage the following year," the minister said.
She also added that if uncorrected, Malaysia would eventually become an ageing nation by 2044, where 15% of the population would then be 60 years old or older.
When asked about the nation's declining fertility rate, Nancy explained that it is caused by several reasons
She said that factors such as late marriages, economic hurdles, and career-focused and family-centric decisions among women all played a part in the current trend, not to mention how many more women have become more discretionary when choosing their partners.
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