JOŠIĆ: PRONATALIST POLICY BEGINS BEFORE CHILD IS BORN

DOBOJ, AUGUST 27 /SRNA/ – A serious pronatalist policy does not begin only when a child is born, but when two people decide they want to become parents, said Danijel Jošić, a member of the Republika Srpska National Assembly.

"When we talk about the fight for more children and the demographic future of Republika Srpska, it is easiest to talk about how many children should be born. It is much more important to answer the question of what we have done for people who want children. There are thousands of men and women for whom parenthood is not a matter of choice, but a years-long struggle," Jošić said.

On the occasion of the Srpska Loves You campaign, through which the Office of Republika Srpska President is presenting the rights and measures that currently make up the family support system in Republika Srpska, Jošić told SRNA that Republika Srpska included in vitro fertilisation among health insurance rights back in 2007.

He recalled that one attempt was financed at the time, while the system was subsequently expanded, and today the Health Insurance Fund finances three attempts at in vitro fertilisation under the prescribed conditions.

"The result of such a policy can today be expressed in a single figure – more than 2,200 babies. That is how many new lives have been born thanks to in vitro fertilisation procedures since this right was introduced in Republika Srpska," Jošić stressed.

He said that the Republika Srpska Government and the Health Insurance Fund have so far allocated more than BAM 42 million for these procedures.

"That investment is worth every convertible mark, because demographic policy is not statistics. It is not enough to tell young people that they should have children. It is the responsibility of institutions to do everything they can to remove the obstacles standing in their way to parenthood. That is why these rights have been expanded over the years," he said.

Jošić stressed that three in vitro fertilisation procedures are now financed, while reimbursement is also available in certain cases when the procedure is carried out abroad.

"In 2017, funding was introduced for the storage of embryos for two years, and since 2023, the Fund has also financed the freezing of reproductive material for oncology patients, so that people battling malignant diseases can preserve the possibility of becoming parents one day. This shows what kind of family policy we want. A policy that does not ask only how many children were born this year, but asks every person who wants a child: What can the institutions of Republika Srpska do to help you become a parent?" Jošić stressed.

He said that demographic challenges are serious and that no single measure can solve them.

"There is still a lot of work ahead of us. But if, thanks to one policy, we have helped more than 2,200 children to be born, then we know that it is worth continuing to develop it. Every child born is one more reason. For family, for life, for Republika Srpska," Jošić said.