“I Want a Baby” Foundation presented its annual awards “Angels of Gratitude” in Parliament. At the ceremony, held under the auspices of Speaker of Parliament Tsveta Karayancheva, awards were presented to representatives of the executive and local authorities for their contribution to the cause of the foundation: more children for Bulgaria.

Our common goal is to support those who have fertility problems so that all Bulgarian families have babies, said the Speaker of Parliament. I am proud of being the patron of this event, because children are important for all families, said Tsveta Karayancheva. Children are our future, the air we breathe, we think about them and live for them, she added.

The Speaker of Parliament thanked everyone who participated and supported the cause of “I Want a Baby” Foundation: more children for Bulgaria.

In 2018 Bulgaria ranked among the top in terms of financial support for couples with fertility problems, emphasised MP Ivan Mihovski at the ceremony. He said that funding for IVF procedures was no longer restricted and couples would no longer have to wait for more than two months.

An “Angel of Gratitude” award was presented to Minister of Finance Vladislav Goranov for delivering on the government’s promise to provide funding for those who needed IVF procedures. This award is not for the Financial Minister but for the whole society, which is strong enough to recognise reproductive health and care for parents with fertility problems as a priority, said Vladislav Goranov.

Upon accepting the award, Deputy Minister of Healthcare Boyko Penkov said that last year almost 4,000 applications were approved for support from the assisted reproduction fund, which led to the birth of 906 babies. The clinical pregnancies as a result of government-funded IVF procedures were 1,124, he said and expressed hopes that the good news would continue in the future.

For 9 years since its founding, the Assisted Reproduction Centre has supported the birth of more than 7,000 children, said Director of the Centre Dr Maria Georgieva, who was also presented with an award.

Among the award winners this year was Mayor of Sofia Yordanka Fandakova for Sofia Municipality’s programme for providing financial support to couples with fertility problems who needed IVF with donor eggs.

At the ceremony, held in Parliament, awards were presented to the mayors of Burgas, Varna, Stara Zagora, Veliko Turnovo, Vratsa, Asenovgrad, Blagoevgrad, Tutrakan and Dupnitsa, and the regional governors of Smolyan and Haskovo. They all expressed their empathy with the couples with fertility problems, and willingness to continue to support them.