Infertility affects one in six people Worldwide – WHO

The World Health Organisation(WHO) has revealed that one in six people worldwide are affected by infertility.

Infertility, which affects men and women, is a reproductive condition defined by the failure to achieve a pregnancy after 12 months or more of regular unprotected sexual intercourse.

A report on Tuesday, April 4 signed by WHO Director-General, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, analysed all relevant studies on infertility from 1990 to 2021 with the results revealing  17.5 per cent of the adult population experience infertility in their lifetime.

“The rates are “comparable” for high, middle and low-income countries,” Ghebreyesus said.

“The report reveals an important truth – infertility does not discriminate,”

“The sheer proportion of people affected shows the need to widen access to fertility care and ensure this issue is no longer sidelined in health research and policy so that safe, effective and affordable ways to attain parenthood are available.”

The report also revealed that despite the prevalence of infertility, diagnosis and treatment such as in vitro fertilization (IVF)  remain underfunded.