Geneva: Infertility affects one in six people of reproductive age worldwide, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Friday, as it released a new global guideline that outlines recommendations for improving access to prevention, diagnosis, and treatment.
According to Anadolu Agency, the WHO stated that access to fertility care remains "severely limited" despite the scale of the issue. In many countries, tests and treatments are paid largely out of pocket, leaving people with high financial burdens. It was highlighted that in some settings, a single round of in vitro fertilization (IVF) can cost "double the average annual household income."
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus remarked that infertility is one of the most overlooked public health challenges of our time and a significant global equity issue. "Millions face this journey alone - priced out of care, pushed toward cheaper but unproven treatments, or forced to choose between their hopes of having children and their financial security," he stated.
The guideline, WHO's first on infertility, contains 40 recommendations. These cover clinical pathways for diagnosing common causes of infertility and provide guidance on how treatment may progress from counseling and timing advice to procedures such as intrauterine insemination or IVF. The health agency emphasized that infertility can result in significant stigma, distress, and financial hardship. It called for increased investment in prevention, including providing information on fertility, age-related factors, and untreated sexually transmitted infections.
Lifestyle measures such as maintaining a healthy diet, engaging in physical activity, and stopping tobacco use are recommended for individuals planning or attempting pregnancy. The guideline also highlighted the need for psychosocial support. Pascale Allotey, the director of WHO's department of sexual, reproductive, maternal, child, and adolescent health and ageing, emphasized that "the prevention and treatment of infertility must be grounded in gender equality and reproductive rights."