On May 15, Roda held its first international conference related to the topic of infertility: Together for Fertility. The conference was organised and held in Croatia, in cooperation with the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Zagreb.
The conference was opened by the State Secretary of the Central State Office for Demography and Youth, Željka Josić, who emphasised the importance of including medically assisted reproduction (MAR) treatment in the Demographic Revitalisation Strategy of the Republic of Croatia until 2033, stressing that the share of children born with the help of MAR in the total number of children born in 2021 amounted to about 5%, which is one of the largest shares among developed countries.
The topics of the conference were: fertility awareness and infertility treatment, the importance of reproductive health education and health literacy in Croatia.
Also, the first generation of (in)fertility educators, trained through a completely new and in an international context unique training organised through the Together for Fertility project, were presented. The mission of the educators in the next period will be to provide basic information on reproductive health, as well as to provide useful advice to people facing infertility prior to their contact with the health system and treatment. We are especially glad that a group of medical students recognised and felt the importance of this topic and that they themselves underwent the mentioned education and were present together with other educators at the conference.
The conference was attended by renowned lecturers from Croatia and abroad: prof. Ph.D. Carlos Calhaz-Jorge, until recently the president of the European Society for Human Reproduction and Embryology (ESHRE), associate professor. Ph.D. Lana Škrgatić, vice dean of the Faculty of Medicine, University of Zagreb; Zoltan Varkonyi, head of the European Basic Skills Network, an international organisation for adult education; Klaudija Kordić, president of the umbrella European patient organization Fertility Europe.
At the end of the conference, a panel was held where experts, patients and Roda's educators were guests. With the moderation of Ivanka Zorić, a discussion was encouraged about the needs of patients and experts in primary health care, the broader context of infertility treatment, and the necessity of creating and establishing a national educational program on fertility was emphasized.
At Roda, we are extremely proud of this conference and its significance. Empowered, full of positive energy, we will continue our joint work in raising awareness about this topic with the aim of getting as many informed patients as possible, which is crucial for the treatment process itself.
Photos: Barbara Trbojević
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