For many people, 400 baht doesn't seem like a huge amount of money. But for Apinya Sattarum, this amount makes a huge difference in her life as a 27-year-old mother.
Apinya is now qualified to receive a child support grant, a pilot scheme implemented by the government since October last year to help provide financial assistance to families with newborns. After Apinya learned she was entitled to such a right, she did not hesitate to submit the application.
- VIDEO: Child support grants
The government child support grant involves a monthly allowance of 400 baht, which is given away to parents or caretakers of newborn babies until they reach one year of age. Babies born between Oct 1, 2015, and Sept 30 are eligible to qualify. Families of beneficiaries must live in a household that receives income of no more than 3,000 baht per person a month. This is to help lift their life so they can afford all the essential costs.
Apinya's son suffocated on amniotic fluid during labour, which severely affected his ability to consume food. Milk, therefore, has to be fed to him through a feeding tube. As a result, Apinya has to put all her work aside and focus on taking care of her child. Household earnings come from her husband alone, who works at a tools and supplies shop where he makes around 4,000 baht a month.
The family also receives an additional disability grant of 800 baht per month as Apinya is categorised as a person with muscular weakness. The total money combined has to stretch to put food on the table for four family members.
Apinya cannot work as she has to care for her child.
It has been a year since the child grant scheme was first approved. And to provide better financial aid to other families in need, the National Commission on the Promotion of Child and Youth Development has agreed to continue the scheme and is proposing to the cabinet to extend the programme so that the grant covers newborns up to three years of age, instead of just one. The grant is also expected to be raised from 400 to 600 baht a month. The proposal will be discussed in a cabinet meeting soon.
The monthly allowance of 600 baht was calculated based on three principles -- first, whether the grant is sufficient to help significantly improve the quality of life of families; second, whether the grant rate is affordable by the government; and third, whether the said amount is appropriate and acceptable by all parties involved, including taxpayers.
"From a brief evaluation, we've found that this scheme benefits many families," said the director general of Department of Children and Youth, Napa Sethakorn. "The additional advantage of this scheme is that we can spot other problems that existed in these families that may also be solved."
A study conducted by Unicef shows that for a small child, food expenses alone range from 579 to 812 baht a month. The 600 baht grant given to children up to three years of age does not only benefit individual families. According to the Thailand Development Research Institute, such a proposed policy will effectively narrow the poverty gap among the Thai population.
Sumrong Masawang, a 59-year-old grandmother of four-month-old twins, also finds the child grant essential for the family. Living in Satuek district of the northeastern province of Buri Ram, the poverty has left Sumrong's daughter, who is the mother of the twins, no choice but to get a job in Chon Buri to earn a living. Each month, Sumrong's daughter transfers 3,000 baht back to the family, but this is far from enough. The twins have expenses of around 5,000 baht, which includes powdered milk and diapers. The twins's grandfather therefore has to do odd jobs like cutting hair and fixing bicycles to earn extra income.
"It would be great if the grant is extended at least two years longer until my grandchildren can walk," said Sumrong.
According to James Hackman, the Nobel laureate in economics, the investment in early childhood from newborns to six-year-olds is the most critical period in terms of child development and will benefit children in terms of doing better in school and earning higher income in the future, and will have further repercussions on a social level.
Five months have passed since the child grant registration began. So far, 65,506 people have registered and 36,355 are qualified to receive the grant, while 29,093 people are in the process of having their application reviewed. Unicef Representative of Thailand Thomas Davin said that the speed of establishing the scheme in Thailand has been impressive. The number of people joining the programme is also high.
"We believe that this scheme works here. Feedback from the families has proved that the grant makes a difference to them so we hope that the government will extend the scheme up to three years of age," said Davin. "Although Unicef has suggested providing grants for six years, from newborn up to six-year-olds, the incremental approach starting from 400 baht a year is enabling the government and citizens to discuss and find the most appropriate level of grants."
Though this scheme is claimed to be beneficial, the question as to whether it is the right way to improve a child's quality of life is still valid, Davin said.
The grant helps support expenses for these twins, which is 5,000 baht a month.
"The challenge of a social protection scheme in any country is that governments often try to find a way to get out of paying for them. However, there is experience from other countries that if the scheme is well implemented, together with other support like free education and vocational training, then this will help families change their social status," Davin added.
"The children will become economically productive to such a level that they won't need this grant anymore. So we hope, in time, a large proportion of these families will be able to eventually 'graduate' out of the scheme."
It is not only families in critically poor conditions that benefit from the child grant scheme. Kwanruedee Kwanthong is a mother of a five-month-old; her boy doesn't have any serious health issues and she breastfeeds, so she manages to save on expenses for baby formula.
"Each month, I save up to 100 baht for my son, and I spend the rest for daily expenses, but it would be great if I could receive more financial help because when my son grows up, there will definitely be more expenses that need to be covered.
"I'm planning to breastfeed and take care of him until he turns one, and then I'll ask my aunt to look after him as I have to earn a living," she added.
"But if the grant is extended then it means that I can continue taking care of my child at least for another year."
