On September 16, Minsk /Elena Prus - BELTA/. The increase in the child birth allowance will apply to children born from October 1. This was stated to BELTA correspondent by the Minister of Labour and Social Protection of Belarus, Marianna Shchetkina, commenting on Decree No. 416 of September 15, 2011 "On Increasing the State Allowance for Childbirth". The adoption of the decree is one of a series of consistent measures to stabilise the birth rate situation. The document has been prepared as part of the implementation of the National Programme for Demographic Security of the Republic of Belarus for 2011-2015. Its aim is to strengthen socio-economic support for families depending on the birth order of children, and to create favourable conditions for the harmonious development of a child. The decree provides for a doubling of the allowance: for the birth of the first child - in the amount of 10 living wage budgets (LWB), for the birth of the second and subsequent children - in the amount of 14 LWB. Currently, the LWB amounts to Br442,360. And from November 1 of this year, in accordance with the legislation, the LWB will be revised, stressed Marianna Shchetkina. The implementation of the decree will require an additional Br71.9 billion from the funds of the Social Protection Fund of the Ministry of Labour and Social Protection this year. These funds, according to the minister, are provided for in the fund's budget. "Issues of creating favourable living conditions for families are priority areas of state social policy," noted Marianna Shchetkina. "Measures aimed at strengthening material support for families with children are systematically implemented in Belarus, including through cash payments to families in connection with the birth, maintenance and upbringing of children." The measures taken have contributed to positive trends in the birth rate. From 2006 to 2010, the general fertility rate increased from 9.9 to 11.4 per 1,000 population. The total fertility rate increased over this period from 1.28 to 1.49. The proportion of second and third children in the total number of newborns increased: the number of second-born children increased by 10.9%, and third-born children by 3%. In the first half of this year, 50.8 thousand children were born in the country. "Social programmes in Belarus are implemented in accordance with the outlined plans - timely and in full," concluded the Minister of Labour and Social Protection.-0-