“Qhis report is the first of its kind in a decade and reveals an important truth: infertility does not discriminateto”. So the director general of the Oms Tedros Ghebreyesus commented the new report from the World Health Organization on theme. “For millions of people around the world, the path to parenthood can be difficult, if not impossible, regardless of where they live and what resources they have.” The numbers speak for themselves: in the world one in six people cannot have children.
Infertility, 1 in 6 people in the world cannot have children
According to the estimates of the study, approximately 17.5% of the adult population suffers from it, with a limited variation according to the regions. Ranging from 17.8% in high-income countries to 16.5% in low- and middle-income countries. For the WHO, infertility is a disease of the male or female reproductive system and “can cause a significant hardship, stigma and financial hardshipinfluencing people’s mental and psychosocial well-being.
More attention to contraception than to infertility
The report analyzed studies on the topic from 1990 to 2021 and highlights the lack of attention to the problem. Dr Pascale Allotey from WHO’s Department of Sexual and Reproductive Health explains: “Infertility has not received much attention globally, and this is largely due to the fact that there has been much more attention to contraception rather than infertility. And so, it just wasn’t prioritized.”
The exaggerated costs of fertility treatments
Despite the scale of the problem, solutions for the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of infertility, including assisted reproductive technologies such as in vitro fertilization, remain underfunded and unaffordable for many people due to high cost, social stigma and limited availability.
Currently, in most countries, fertility treatments are largely funded by those affected. With devastating financial costs in the poorest countries, but not only.
“Millions of people face catastrophic healthcare costs for infertility treatment. So it is serious equity problem and, all too often, a real one trap for those affectedAllotey said. «Better policies and public funding they can significantly improve access to care and protect less affluent families from falling into further poverty,” he explains.
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