Every sixth inhabitant of the planet is infertile — WHO report
17.5% of the adult population of the Earth or every sixth inhabitant of the planet suffers from infertility, according to a report published by the World Health Organization.
"A huge number of people suffering from infertility speak of the need to expand access to infertility treatment and take measures to ensure that this topic is no longer relegated to the background in the field of scientific research and health policy. This will ensure access to safe, effective and inexpensive types of infertility care that will help all those who aspire to become parents," said WHO Director General Tedros Gebreysus.
Various technologies related to infertility treatment are insufficiently funded and inaccessible to many people due to their high cost, according to the organization. The high cost of the procedure forces residents of developing countries to spend the major share of their budget, which exacerbates the problem of social inequality.
"Millions of people incur catastrophic medical costs as a result of seeking medical care for infertility, which makes this issue one of the serious factors of inequality, and too often these people find themselves in the "poverty trap"," said Pascal Alotte, Director of the WHO Department of Sexual and Reproductive Health.
The report calls for the maintenance of objective and broad statistics of people suffering from infertility in order to develop an effective strategy in this area.
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