stated a report The World Health Organization states that one out of every six people in the world, or 17.5 percent of the total world population, is affected by infertility, “underlining the urgent need to provide access to affordable, high-quality fertility health care for those who need it.”
Recent estimates show a limited variation in the prevalence of infertility between regions of the world, whether in high, middle or low-income countries, which proves that the problem represents a major health challenge worldwide.
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said, “The report reveals an important truth, which is that infertility does not discriminate. The large proportion of those affected shows the need to expand access to fertility care and ensure that this issue is not marginalized in medical research and policy.”
Infertility is a disease that affects the male or female reproductive system, and is defined by the inability to reach the result of pregnancy following 12 months or more of regular intercourse without means to prevent pregnancy.
According to a press release issued by the World Health Organization, infertility can cause psychological stress, stigma and financial distress, affecting people’s physical and psychological well-being.
Despite the enormity of the issue, solutions to prevent, diagnose and treat infertility, including assistive technology such as IVF, remain underfunded and not available to all due to their high cost, social stigma and limited availability.
In some countries, the patient bears the costs of infertility treatment, in a large way, which may lead to devastating financial consequences. People in the poorest countries spend a higher percentage of their income on fertility treatment than people in the richest countries.
The high cost often prevents some from accessing fertility treatment or pushes others into poverty by seeking treatment.
“Millions of people face catastrophic healthcare costs following seeking infertility treatment, making it an issue of medical equity and poverty for those affected by infertility,” said Pascal Allotte, Director of WHO’s Division of Sexual and Reproductive Health.
She added that improved policies and public financing can expand access to such care and protect poor families.
The report provides information on the prevalence of infertility at the global and regional levels, by analyzing all relevant studies conducted from 1990 to 2021, taking into account the various estimation approaches used, according to the WHO website.
While the report provides compelling evidence of the high prevalence of infertility globally, it also highlights the lack of data available in many countries and some regions.
The report calls for better provision of national data on infertility, disaggregated by age and cause, to help measure it, find out who needs fertility care services and how to reduce risks.
Independently, an assessment of the costs associated with infertility treatments in low- and middle-income countries was undertaken as part of new research funded by the Special Program for Research, Development and Training in Human Reproduction Research, with support from the World Health Organization, and published in the journalHuman Reproduction Open“.
