The 2021 iteration of Fertility Show Africa, which took place online on October 9 & 10, was a huge success, with over 700 registrants, attendees and participants from 22 countries visiting the show to listen to talks from leading fertility authorities, experts and clinicians, take part in Q&As and attend panel discussions.
A key attraction of the show was Expert Talks, a cutting-edge programme, sponsored by Ferring, on current and pertinent topics that impact the journey to parenthood, presented by fertility specialists and medical professionals from the US, UK, Nigeria, Kenya and South Africa.
Says Heidi Warricker, CEO and organiser of FSA: “It was a hugely successful event and we had visitors from Belgium, Botswana, Canada, Eswatini, France, Ghana, Germany, India, Iran, Ireland, Kenya, Nigeria, Namibia, Romania, Sudan, Sweden, Tanzania, the UAE, Uganda, the UK, the US and, of course, South Africa.
“The feedback has been so positive and so encouraging and if FSA ultimately brings joy to some and hope to others then all the hard work putting the show together will have been worth it.”
Attendees have described the show as “really well put together with a wealth of knowledge and information that was exceptional,” “overflowing with information,” “very helpful and relevant,” and “very useful information from the experts.”
Partcipants in FSA, including fertility lawyers, obstetricians, gynaecologists, embryologists, psychologists, fertility nurses, nutritionists and more, were no less effusive for their praise of the show.
Said Mandy Rodrigues, SASREG, Chairperson of Counselling: “It was a resounding success. Given the virtual platform, we were able to pack even more into this year’s show. FSA was informative, allowing national and international speakers from top fertility specialists to support groups and some comedic, light-hearted engagements all the way from New York. I was intrigued by the quality of the talks and the Q & A platforms where speakers offered sound advice and as well as the quality of the speakers who are top of their field and in keeping with international trends.”
Gottie Scholtz, Portfolio Manager at Ferring South Africa Reproductive Health added: “Ferring is proud to support such an important, well-organised patient-information congress. Fertility is an important topic and we are passionate about informing, educating and supporting the public on factors relating to fertility.”
Dr Rizwana Roomaney, a psychology lecturer at Stellenbosch University said: “I think the show was a wonderful event because it brought to light issues that are usually not openly discussed. In addition to providing great information, the show may also have helped in validating experiences relating to infertility.”
Tertia Albetyn from the Nurture Egg Donor Program said: “What a fantastic, professional, slick show. I have to commend Heidi and her technical support team who were incredibly patient and helpful when it came to getting all the speakers set up and ready to present. The demo platform was genius! It allowed us to get everything set up and working before the big weekend. And when I suddenly was unable to log in to the presenters platform 5 minutes before I was due to speak (totally due to my own fault!), the technical team jumped straight into action and got everything set up and working on my side. Outstanding effort, well done all!”
US-based Meirav Zur, writer and performer of the one-woman show Inconceivable: The Totally True One-Woman Semi-Fertile Quasi-‘Musical’, clips of which was shown at FSA, commented: “Too bad this event wasn’t around when I was deep in the all-consuming bubble of infertility, because I could have really used the knowledge and support! I am very glad you made such an event possible for so many people this year. The impact is immeasurable. I hope to be part of future events, I would be honored to be part of this important experience!”
Added Saskia Williams, Founder and CEO of the Infertility Awareness Association of South Africa (IFAASA): “FSA 2021’s totally online show blew me away with it’s professional content and slick online platform. IFAASA was so proud to be involved once again and we cannot wait to start planning for 2022, where we will hopefully see some of you face to face again but, still be able to stream the content live to the rest of Africa and the world! Thank you Live Events for another great show!”
Final word goes to 3Sixty Biomedicine CEO, Boitumelo Sebambo, who said: “Fertility Show Africa have demonstrated once again why they are the go-to event and platform for sharing important content about infertility. The calibre of content and fertility experts involved in this year’s show was outstanding and the programme lent itself to educating and connecting everyday people directly to clinicians and experts in this field to get the help they need. The fact that the show was virtual this year also meant it allowed people from outside of a specific region or area to also connect with this content. We believe platforms and partnerships like we have with the Fertility Show Africa and IFAASA play a critical role in creating a safe space for women and men to talk about taboo health issues like infertility. The FSA objectives resonate with 3Sixty Biomedicine’s mission to normalise conversations around common but often taboo health conditions in order to remove the stigma attached to them and allow more people to unashamedly find ways to treat these medical conditions that will help improve their quality of life. We were proud that our Salome range was represented at this year’s show and in particular of our sponsorship of the inspiring “Curse of the Womb” production and the enlightening Polycystic Ovary Syndrome talk presented by fertility specialist, Dr Trouw.”. Watch the extended version here.
The Fertility Show Africa 2021 was proudly supported by IFAASA (Infertility Awareness Association of South Africa) and SASREG (South African Society for Reproductive Medicine and Gynaecological Endoscopy).
Watch the replay of Day 1 here
Watch the replay of Day 2 here
