By About one in six adults globally have experienced infertility at least once in their life, the World Health Organisation (WHO) has said in a report,
urging countries to actively collect more consistent data on the
disease.
Monday’s report analysed existing studies conducted from 1990 to
2021 and showed that about 17.5 percent of adults across the world were
affected by the inability to have a child.
WHO officials said
the report takes into account several research approaches.
“The sheer proportion of people affected show the need to
widen access to fertility care and ensure this issue is no
longer sidelined in health research and policy,” said the UN health agency’s chief, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
The WHO defines infertility as a disease of the male or female reproductive system that is defined by the failure to achieve a pregnancy after 12 months or more of regular unprotected sexual intercourse.
There was no evidence of increasing rates of infertility
between 1990 and 2021, the global health agency’s unit head for
Contraception and Fertility Care, James Kiarie, told journalists
on a call.
“Based on the data we have, we cannot say that infertility
is increasing or constant … the jury’s still out on that
question,” he said, citing that data so far has been mixed and
inconsistent.
The report highlights the need for countries to collect and
share consistent data on infertility, separated by age and
cause, as well as information on those who need fertility care.
About 17.8 percent of adults in high-income countries have
experienced infertility at least once and about 16.5 percent of adults
in low- and middle-income countries, according to the report.
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