By Cletus I. Springer
Addressing the challenges associated with declining fertility rates in Saint Lucia and the Caribbean will require careful thought and sustained public consultation. Fewer births will mean more elderly people relying on fewer workers for support; more pressure on healthcare systems, pensions, and social services; reduced productivity and economic growth; and smaller tax revenues.
As I noted in an earlier commentary, this is a global problem afflicting rich and poor countries alike. While it may be more severe in countries like Japan, even populous countries like China are experiencing its effects.
Declining fertility is not a demographic issue or a demand and supply issue. Moreover, it’s not a money problem, per se. If so, rich countries would have no problems. Similarly, there are many couples who can afford (financially) to have children, but who, for various reasons, don’t feel they can provide the requisite, non-financial support. To grasp this point, we need only consider the backgrounds of the young men (mostly) responsible for school shootings in the US. Indeed, many readers would know children from some well-to-do families in Saint Lucia who had all they needed and wanted, but who “perished” for want of emotional support and proper parental guidance.
Addressing the fertility challenge will require a long-term, multi-pronged approach that combines family support, immigration, economic reform, cultural shifts, and adjustments to our education and health systems.
Children must be cared for, primarily by parents, but with support from immediate and extended families, communities and the State. Each of these actors faces multiple barriers in fulfilling their respective responsibilities. Family structures that supported higher fertility rates up until the mid-1980s are no longer there. Coming from a family of eight, I wonder how things would have turned out for my siblings and me if our parents were not able to rely on a network of extended family, neighbours and friends to care for us, especially during the long summer vacation. Every July, our parents sent us to Dennery to spend a month with family, fully assured, we would receive the same values and emotional support they gave us.
As challenging as things were then, there were fewer barriers to raising children. There were fewer distractions in homes, schools and communities. As children, we went to school, to church and to playing fields. Whenever we were not at these places, we were either at home or nearby and always under the scrutiny of an elder.
There is clear evidence that many well-intentioned parents are struggling to raise their kids. Many have only the examples of their parents to guide them, which are not always the best. Where can a struggling parent find emotional support and guidance?
Presently, we have a “carrying capacity” challenge, details of which are well known to philanthropic individuals, service clubs and social assistance agencies: kids who turn up for school hungry, or who don’t turn up because they can’t pay for transportation; hordes of young men attracted to illicit drugs and gangs; young women, some of whom are mothers, who feel they have no choice but to stay in abusive relationships or to sell their bidies to get by. I can go on and not say much that’s new.
The 2026/27 Budget Statement includes various support systems and relief measures for parents. Instructively, research shows that fertility trends are strongly influenced not by incentives, but by social norms, the cost of living, housing, career expectations, and gender roles.
Viewed positively, a declining fertility rate gives us time to satisfactorily address these challenges. Yes, there are fewer children in our schools; but that could also mean more manageable class sizes and a stronger likelihood that our children will receive a better quality of education. It could also mean a more managed transition from school to the job market, and fewer young people unable to find work.
These realities are feeding an anti-immigration sentiment, as our people fear the situation will only worsen if we open our doors to “foreigners.” We might say this sentiment is unreasonable, given the thousands of Saint Lucians living in the diaspora, Nevertheless, it exists and it is strong enough for our politicians to take notice.
As I see it, we have about 5-7 years to plan for a larger population. This must include a more deliberate effort to create a fully operational single market and economy and the requisite central planning arrangements. It will call for the diaspora to be engaged in more creative and tangible ways, such as “in situ” use of their services, incentivizing their return to the country, and establishing reciprocal tax and social security agreements with the diaspora governments. It could also call for the adoption of targeted immigration policies. For decades, Canada and the US gave lifelines to the Caribbean through farm labour programmes. We might use a similar mechanism to attract temporary skilled workers to offset local worker shortages, especially in the construction, healthcare and hotel industries, where the brain drain is most acute.
Additionally, we must cater for an older population. We might encourage older adults to work longer through flexible work arrangements; and we must invest in creating livable spaces for them at work and in their communities.
For the moment, we should encourage even those who can financially afford to have more children, to ensure they can adequately provide for them, emotionally, psychologically and otherwise.
While these measures will not directly increase fertility rates, they could help to cushion its negative impacts and increase the size of the workforce. However, building public support for these measures is critical, especially those involving the introduction of a migrant workforce. I am convinced such support will not come without public consultation and public education.
Above all, we must be mindful that whatever we do on the fertility front will not compensate for the low productivity of the workforce. We will need to invest more in infrastructure modernization, technology enhancement and education to maintain and/or increase output with fewer workers.