The Calabria Region is working to create two new public centers of excellence dedicated to Medically Assisted Procreation (PMA), one in the north and one in the south of the regional territory, so as to guarantee homogeneous geographical coverage, strengthen the healthcare offer and combat passive migration.
This was announced during the IV SIRU Calabria Conference dedicated to the birth rate reduction by the regional councilor for Welfare Pasqualina Straface, who spoke on behalf of the President of the Region Roberto Occhiuto.
“President Occhiuto – stated Straface – considers it a priority to invest decisively in the field of fertility and medically assisted reproduction. For this reason we are evaluating the establishment of two further public centers of excellence which will be added to the first first level public center already operational, and with excellent performance, at the “Renato Dulbecco” University Hospital of Catanzaro. The objective is to strengthen the existing network, increase accessibility to services and make Calabria also attractive for patients coming from other regions”.
In his speech, the councilor recalled that the birth rate “is not a simple statistical issue, but a real social emergency that affects the future of Calabria”. The aging of the population, the decline in births and the reduction of the workforce “put the sustainability of welfare and the vitality of local communities at risk”.
Hence the need for an integrated approach to strengthen specialist skills and structures, networking them in the regional health service; increase economic, organizational and structural resources dedicated to MAP, which fully falls within the Essential Levels of Assistance; combat healthcare migration, which has increased over the years due to the lack of dedicated public services; promote constant dialogue between science, institutions, specialist centers and healthcare professionals; develop social and parenting support policies capable of accompanying families from the birth of their children to their growth.
“The birth rate decline – he added – can only be combated by building a Calabria in which young people have concrete prospects and in which becoming parents does not mean facing an obstacle course. Stable, continuous and targeted policies are needed, capable of truly supporting family units, from work-life conciliation to quality educational services”.
In short, this morning’s appointment was a precious moment of discussion and a starting point for a path that must be stable, shared and multidisciplinary.
“The Region – concluded councilor Straface – is ready to welcome and valorise the proposals of the scientific community, because the challenge of the birth rate decline can only be overcome with collective responsibility, not by resigning ourselves to a pre-written destiny.