Speaking after her ministry’s event in Seberang Jaya today, she said the government has begun running roadshows focussed on male fertility, starting in Sabah.

“We need men to realise it is not because of women alone that the fertility rate is low,” she said, adding the government would bring in a “celebrity” doctor to help in its efforts to raise awareness.

Nancy said the government, through the National Population and Family Development Board, was also offering in vitro fertilisation and fertility services to both men and women.

She said an ageing population by 2030 was a real concern and urged both genders to reflect on their roles in raising the birth rate.

According to the 2024 ESCAP Population Data Insights, the country’s total fertility rate (TFR) rose slightly from 1.6 to 1.7 last year but remains below the replacement level of 2.1.

A TFR of 1.7 means that, on average, each woman is having fewer than two children. For a population to replace itself without relying on immigration, the TFR needs to be 2.1.

According to the statistics department’s latest numbers, Sabah’s birth rate is the lowest in the country, dropping from 5.5 children per woman in 1980 to just 1.4 in 2022, well below the replacement level of 2.1.

While Terengganu registered the highest TFR at 2.9, Penang and Kuala Lumpur recorded the lowest at 1.2.

Meanwhile, Nancy said caregiving was another key factor in deciding whether a couple would want to have a baby.

She said the government was now trying to develop a recognised professional caregiving industry and urged the public to treat carers as professionals, not servants.

She said better pay and training could encourage more youths to join the field.

“I personally experienced it with my mother. It is very difficult to get people to be caregivers,” she said.