TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Taiwan’s Cabinet will launch a birth subsidy program on Jan. 1, providing NT$100,000 (US$3,300) per newborn to address the country’s falling birthrate.

The plan, announced Wednesday, focuses on three areas: childbirth subsidies, assisted reproduction subsidies, and egg freezing subsidies, per EBC News. Minister without Portfolio Chen Shih-chung (陳時中) said it will help more than 120,000 families by easing the financial burden of child-rearing and infertility treatments.

Under the plan, the government will provide NT$100,000 per newborn, with proportional payments for multiple births, applying uniformly across labor, civil service, national, agricultural, and military insurance systems. Families can also claim local government birth incentives.

For couples facing infertility, the assisted reproduction subsidy will be expanded and the eligible age ceiling lowered from 40 to 39. Women aged 39 and under can receive subsidies for up to six attempts, with the first attempt funded at NT$150,000, the second and third at NT$100,000, and the fourth to sixth at NT$60,000.

Women aged 39 to 45 will only receive subsidies for the first three attempts, while low- and middle-income households can still receive the maximum of NT$150,000 per attempt. Restrictions on fertilized embryo implantation will be relaxed, allowing women under 39 to implant up to two embryos to improve live birth rates.

The medical egg freezing subsidy will apply to women aged 28 to 40 with medical needs, such as cancer or other treatments that affect ovarian function. The subsidy will cover around NT$70,000 for the freezing process and NT$8,000 for oocyte retrieval, handling, and storage.

Currently, 36 qualified medical institutions across Taiwan are authorized to provide the service.