New York: Around 1 in 6 adults worldwide have faced infertility at least once in their life, revealed a World Health Organization (WHO) report on Monday. The health organization urged countries to actively gather more dependable data on the disease.
The report looked into existing studies conducted during the period 1990 to 2021 and disclosed that as many as 17.5% of adults globally were affected by not being able to have a child, Reuters reported. WHO officials stated the report considered several research angles.
WHO chief says there is need for dependable data
UN health agency’s chief, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, said that the significant number of people affected highlights the need to increase access to fertility care and make sure this issue does not stay sidelined in health research and policy any longer.
WHO’s head for Contraception and Fertility Care, James Kiarie, stated that there was no evidence of increasing rates of infertility during the period of study – 1990 to 2021.
The report shows that there is a for countries to share and collect dependable data on infertility that is separated by cause and age, along with facts on those who require fertility care.
In the case of high-income countries, 17.8% of adults faced infertility at least once, with those in middle- and low-income countries about 16.5% of adults, as per the report.
