Ildikó Horváth also announced new protocols to ensure updated diagnostic and therapeutic procedures.

She added that the government has increased the number of fertility treatment centres to 12 nationwide.

An annual 10.6 billion forints (EUR 11.8m) is now available to finance diagnostic procedures and drugs that patients have so far had to pay for.

Currently, one in seven married couples in Hungary is childless, affecting 150,000 people. The government expects the number of births to reach 4,000 in 2022 thanks to the new scheme, she added.

MTI Photo: Oláh Tibor