One out of every six people in the world is infertile (WHO)

The World Health Organization reported on Tuesday that one out of every six people in the world suffers from infertility, underlining the urgent need to expand access to affordable and good quality treatments.

WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus noted in a new report that "one in six people in the world is unable to conceive a child at some point in their lives, regardless of the region they live in or the resources available to them."

The World Health Organization confirmed that this situation represents a "major health problem" affecting 17.8% of the adult population in rich countries and 16.5% of the population of low- or middle-income countries.

"The report, the first of its kind to be issued in ten years, revealed an important fact that infertility does not discriminate between people," Gebrisius said.

The report did not refer to the medical or environmental reasons behind infertility, or how this health problem has evolved over time, but it provided a preliminary idea of its prevalence by analyzing all the studies that dealt with it between 1990 and 2021.

The report showed that "infertility affects a large portion of the world's population" because this health problem affects 17.5% of adults worldwide.

Gebrisios stressed that "infertility affects millions of people," but despite that, "it has not been covered by sufficient studies, while the necessary treatments face a lack of funding and are not available to many due to their high costs, the social stigma associated with the problem, and their insufficient availability."

He added, "The large percentage of those affected by infertility shows the need to expand access to fertility care, and to ensure that this issue is not marginalized in research and health policies, so that effective and affordable treatments become available to those who wish to get rid of this problem."

According to the World Health Organization, infertility is a disease of the male or female reproductive system, defined by the inability to reach a pregnancy result after 12 months or more of regular intercourse without the use of contraception. Infertility can cause psychological stress, ostracism and financial distress for those affected.

"Pregnancy is usually accompanied by great social pressure," said Pascal Alotei, Director of the Department of Sexual and Reproductive Health at the World Health Organization, during the presentation of the report to reporters, adding that "bearing children is still in some countries a necessary process linked to society's view of femininity and marriage." “Failure to conceive often carries a social stigma.”

She pointed out that "people who face the problem of infertility often suffer from anxiety and depression," noting that there is "an increased risk of domestic violence associated with infertility."

The World Health Organization has called on countries to develop methods of preventing, diagnosing and treating infertility that include assisted reproductive technologies such as artificial insemination.

"We want to ensure that the silence around infertility is broken, by making sure it is built into sexual and reproductive policies and services and related financing," said Dr. Getu Mburo of the World Health Organisation.

While the report presented data confirming the "high prevalence of infertility in the world", it also highlighted the lack of data in several countries, including African countries and countries in the eastern Mediterranean and Southeast Asia.

He called on countries to ensure the availability of more data on infertility, disaggregated by age and causes, to help determine the extent of the problem and understand who needs fertility treatment, and how the risks of infertility can be reduced.