Hungary will provide free in-vitro fertilisation (IVF) treatment to couples at state-run clinics, Prime Minister Viktor Orban has announced.

He said fertility was of “strategic importance”. Last month his government took over Hungary’s fertility clinics.

Mr Orban, a right-wing nationalist, has long advocated a “procreation over immigration” approach to deal with demographic decline.

The country’s population has been falling steadily for four decades.

Mr Orban described details of his fertility policy on Thursday, after bringing six fertility clinics under state control in December.

Free IVF treatment will be offered from 1 February, but it is not clear who exactly will be entitled to it.

Mr Orban also said the government was considering an income tax exemption for women who have three children or more. Starting this month, those with at least four children have been exempt.

“If we want Hungarian children instead of immigrants, and if the Hungarian economy can generate the necessary funding, then the only solution is to spend as much of the funds as possible on supporting families and raising children,” the prime minister said.

Source: BBC