In Rome and Lazio, fewer and fewer children are being had. Even less than many other areas of Italy. This is certified by the Istat data that the central director, Sabrina Prati, brought to the Campidoglio yesterday on the occasion of the Roman stage of the “Natality Tour”. From 2007 to 2023 the number of births decreased by over 18 thousand, reaching -35%, which becomes -36 looking at the province of Rome alone. Two percentage points less than the national average, which stands at -34%. Numbers that are worrying and on which the institutions are asked to intervene, especially given the estimates: if the trend is not reversed, in 2050 Lazio will have 345.6 thousand fewer residents, with 308 over 65s for every 100 under 15s. The female population of childbearing age – conventionally set between 15 and 49 years – has also decreased, going from 1.3 million women to just over 1.1 million. Again according to Istat data, in the province of Rome the deficit of women is 103,510 and in the Municipality it is almost 72 thousand. A capital without young people and increasingly older, which instead «must be made child-friendly, encouraging conciliation between family and work», thunders Gigi De Palo, president of the Birth Foundation and promoter of the General States of Birth and the related tour which in Rome was promoted by the councilor for social policies and health Barbara Funari. “It is a crucial issue that must be addressed together at all institutional levels because it concerns all of us – he said, also in the presence of the mayor Roberto Gualtieri – many families desire motherhood but do not have the economic conditions to have children” and for this reason specific policies are needed. Like that of the Municipality and Farmacap, which launched the “Rome for baby” initiative with a thousand cards for new parents. But it’s not enough. «In January, we will bring a new law to support families to the regional council», said governor Francesco Rocca. A measure to be added to the Efamily bonus, which provides contributions to reduce the cost of educational service fees for children aged 3 to 36 months (applications can be made from 26 November, until available resources are exhausted).
Source: La Repubblica