Infertility can cause significant distress, stigma and financial hardship.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) has released a new report that says one in six people worldwide are affected by infertility. The 98-page report determines that around 17.5 per cent of adults worldwide are affected by infertility at some point, and found little variation between regions and wealthy and poorer countries. The Guardian said in its report that the shocking figures are the global health body's first estimates of infertility prevalence in more than a decade. The report is based on the analysis of existing studies conducted from 1990 to 2021.
"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," UN health agency's chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said.
According to WHO, 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.
It can cause significant distress, stigma and financial hardship, affecting people's mental and psychosocial well-being.
"The causes of infertility are varied and often complex, and it is something that both men and women experience. Indeed, a wide variety of people, in all regions, may require fertility care," Mr Ghebreyesus further said.
The report released on Tuesday did not examine the causes of infertility, and did not seek to determine trends over time, or infertility differences between the sexes. Instead, it provided a first estimate of the global and regional prevalence.
The WHO is calling on countries to include infertility treatment as part of their reproductive health policies, services and financing.