Infertility awareness

1. “Zachatie” Association
“Zachatie” Association is the first Bulgarian non-government organization,
uniting people with reproductive problems. This is an independent, entirely
volunteer structure. The idea of „Zachatie” Association was born at time when
the issue of infertility diagnostics and treatment was barely known to average
Bulgarian. The Association was found on March 6th, 2004 in Sofia by group of
Bulgarian women, united by the idea of increasing the public awareness and
understanding of infertility problems in Bulgaria.
Our main awareness projects
1. Bulgarian infertility portal www.zachatie.org
Several months before the official registration of “Zachatie” Association, we
launched our web site www.zachatie.org – the first and the largest information
portal for infertility and reproductive health in Bulgarian language. Currently,
our web site with discussion forums and chat community has over 21 000
registered users. The site has 14 000 unique visitors per day. Our free online tool
“Ovulation Calendar” is used by over 60 000 users from Bulgaria and abroad in
six languages. Our web site www.zachatie.org has won 6 reputable annual
awards in the category for health and parental web sites in Bulgarian.

2. 2. Protest Action “JAR”
At the end of 2006, we organized a peaceful civil protest, called “Action Jar”
against the decision of the National Health Insurance Fund (NHIF) to cease the
program for partial reimbursement of the IVF treatment. We decorated the steps
of the NHIF’s main entrance with glass jars filled with flowers as a symbol of
the new life concepted in-vitro. As a result of this protest, the program was
resumed.
3. The March of the Empty Baby Strollers
At the end of 2008, “Zachatie” Association together with “Iskam bebe”
Foundation initiated and lobbied for a draft bill for a new government Fund for
Assisted Reproduction, providing up to 3 reimbursed IVF procedures for
infertile couples in Bulgaria. We participated in a workgroup for creating the
draft bill for the new government Fund for Assisted Reproduction. We
organized a silent civil protest, called “The March of the Empty Baby Strollers”
on the occasion of Parliament’s rejection of the draft bill for the Fund for
Assisted Reproduction. The protest was held simultaneously in the two major
cities – Sofia and Varna.

3. As a result of the media campaign and the strong public pressure, organized by
“Zachatie” Association and “Iskam bebe” Foundation, the Parliament finally
passed the bill for the National Fund for Assisted Reproduction, providing 3
reimbursed IVF procedures per couple.
4. The Reproductive Health Day
In 2006, we organized the first national infertility awareness event, called “The
Reproductive Health Day”. This event later became the traditional big annual
event of “Zachatie” Association, organized in different Bulgarian cities. It’s a
unique meeting of patients and leading infertility experts. Each year we select a
different main topic for discussion and media coverage. During the open
sessions, leading medical professionals present the latest news in the
reproductive medicine, assisted reproduction and fertility evaluation and
treatment. An important part of this event are the free consultations with the
leading reproductive health professionals for hundreds of infertile patients.

4. 2006 - “First Reproductive Health day”
2007 - “Infertility and Demographic Collapse”
2008 - “A Heart under My Heart”
2009 - “A Sea of Children Smiles”
2010 - “A Look into Male Infertility”
2011 – “ First Steps: Diagnostics & Prophylaxis
2012 – “Give a Hand: Society and Infertility”
2013 – “To Donate Life”
2014 – “10 Years Zachatie Association”
2015 – “The Long Way: Unexplained Infertility”

5. We organized 4 parallel peaceful civil marches with balloons in the 4 largest
Bulgarian cities during the our second event in the capital Sofia . The aim was to
attract the attention of responsible government institutions to the problems of
infertility in the country.
5. The Awareness Campaign for Teenagers
In 2011, we launched our ongoing awareness campaign, aimed at the young
people between 13 and 19 years of age. It is called “Stay In the Loop: Your
Reproductive Health” and the goal is to inform the teenagers about the basics of
human reproduction and the risks for their reproductive health.
Main activities:
• Distribution of specially designed and developed colour booklets for him
and for her among the teenagers in 9th
-10th
high school grade
• Special classes on reproductive health in the high schools, particularly in
the countryside – held by trained Zachatie volunteers and medical
specialists
• Development and maintenance of a dedicated web site with discussion
forums and a Facebook page for interaction with the target audience and
better reach
Start date: June 2011, with a big concert in Varna, Bulgaria

6. Achieved so far:
1. Design and development of the 2 brochures – for him and for her
2. Found sponsor for printing of 5000 copies of the brochures
3. 30 schools in 17 different cities visited, 30 Lectures taught, 5000
brochures distributed
4. Created Facebook page for the campaign
5. Launched web site of the campaign
6. Participation with information stand in the Annual High Schools Fair in
Sofia, 2012
Funding: We managed to find only one sponsor so far who paid for the first
5000 copies of the brochures. All the rest is a volunteer work.
Links:
1. Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/stayinIntheloop
2. Web site: http://www.stayintheloop.zachatie.org/
3. Brochure for him: http://issuu.com/zachatie/docs/boys_a6_5000?
mode=embed&layout=http%3A%2F%2Fskin.issuu.com%2Fv%2Fcolor
%2Flayout.xml&backgroundColor=CCCCCC&showFlipBtn=true
4. Brochure for her: http://issuu.com/zachatie/docs/girls_a6_5000?
mode=embed&layout=http%3A%2F%2Fskin.issuu.com%2Fv%2Fcolor
%2Flayout.xml&backgroundColor=CCCCCC&showFlipBtn=true
Funding
“Zachatie” Association is funded entirely and solely by donations, membership
fees and infertility-related advertisement on our web site.
Contacts:
www.zachatie.org
e-mail: zachatie@gmail.com

7. Achieved so far:
1. Design and development of the 2 brochures – for him and for her
2. Found sponsor for printing of 5000 copies of the brochures
3. 30 schools in 17 different cities visited, 30 Lectures taught, 5000
brochures distributed
4. Created Facebook page for the campaign
5. Launched web site of the campaign
6. Participation with information stand in the Annual High Schools Fair in
Sofia, 2012
Funding: We managed to find only one sponsor so far who paid for the first
5000 copies of the brochures. All the rest is a volunteer work.
Links:
1. Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/stayinIntheloop
2. Web site: http://www.stayintheloop.zachatie.org/
3. Brochure for him: http://issuu.com/zachatie/docs/boys_a6_5000?
mode=embed&layout=http%3A%2F%2Fskin.issuu.com%2Fv%2Fcolor
%2Flayout.xml&backgroundColor=CCCCCC&showFlipBtn=true
4. Brochure for her: http://issuu.com/zachatie/docs/girls_a6_5000?
mode=embed&layout=http%3A%2F%2Fskin.issuu.com%2Fv%2Fcolor
%2Flayout.xml&backgroundColor=CCCCCC&showFlipBtn=true
Funding
“Zachatie” Association is funded entirely and solely by donations, membership
fees and infertility-related advertisement on our web site.
Contacts:
www.zachatie.org
e-mail: zachatie@gmail.com