About 17.5% of the world’s adult population, which is equivalent to one in six people, suffers from infertility. The data are from the most recent study on the subject, published today by the World Health Organization (WHO), which gathers information from more than 133 studies on the subject worldwide.
With the new numbers now published, the organization believes it is “urgent to increase access to affordable and high-quality fertility care”, as it is a problem that affects a considerable portion of the population. According to the document, there is a considerable difference between infertility in countries considered rich, in which the incidence of this problem in the population is 17.8%, and in those considered of medium or low income – the latter with a lower incidence of 16 .5%.
In terms of regions of the globe, the Western Pacific has the highest lifetime prevalence of infertility, with more than 23% of the population affected by the problem. The eastern Mediterranean is, on the contrary, the one with the lowest incidence rate: 10.7%. In Europe, where Portugal is located, the prevalence of infertility is 16.5%.
In reaction to the conclusions of the new WHO report, Joana Freire, executive director of the Portuguese Fertility Association (APFertility), considers that “the study reinforces the concerns that the association has expressed for several years”. “There is an increasing percentage of people going on a fertility journey globally.”
In the opinion of the World Health Organization, access to infertility treatments should be considered as part of the resolution to achieve two of the 17 objectives launched by the United Nations as sustainable development goals: quality health (point 3); and gender equality (point 5).
According to WHO, “infertility is a disease of the male or female reproductive system, defined by the inability to achieve a pregnancy after 12 months or more of regular unprotected sexual intercourse”. Often associated with this problem are also significant psychological distress, stigma and financial hardship, as infertility treatments are currently expensive. Speaking to “Jornal de Notícias”, the person responsible for the APF speaks of the case of Portugal, to highlight “the inability of the public health system to respond, which continues to need greater investment in terms of professionals, equipment and infrastructure”.
“Despite the magnitude of the problem, solutions for preventing, diagnosing and treating infertility – including assisted reproductive technology such as in vitro fertilization (IVF) – remain underfunded and unaffordable for many due to high costs,” the WHO said in a statement. shared today in which he promotes the new report. Pascale Allotey, Director of Sexual and Reproductive Health and Research at the WHO, recalls that, with treatment inaccessible to the middle and lower layers of the population, this is also a “big problem of equity”.
The new report, entitled “Infertily prevalence estimates”, brings together 133 studies on infertility, aggregating available data on the subject between 1990 and 2021. , the most complete and up-to-date document on the reality of infertility in the world. The WHO highlights, however, “a persistent lack of data in many countries and some regions”.