WHO finds 17.5% of adults experience infertility creating 'poverty trap' for many

Around one in six adults around the world experience infertility and the costs associated with this create a “medical poverty trap” for many, the World Health Organization has warned.

It has now estimated around 17.5% of adults experience the devastating condition. It said this shows the need to increase access to “affordable, high-quality fertility care” globally.

The WHO found comparable levels of infertility across high-income, mid-income and low-income countries.

This indicates the problem is “a major health challenge globally”.

Lifetime prevalence was 17.8% in high-income countries and 16.5% in low- and middle-income countries.

WHO director general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said: “Infertility does not discriminate."

He called for a worldwide focus on the challenge. He said: 

“The sheer proportion of people affected shows the need to widen access to fertility care and ensure this issue is no longer sidelined in health research and policy, so that safe, effective, and affordable ways to attain parenthood are available for those who seek it.

Infertility is a disease of the male or female reproductive system, defined by the failure to achieve a pregnancy after 12 months or more of regular unprotected sexual intercourse.

The WHO warned this can lead to significant distress, stigma, and financial hardship, affecting people’s mental and psychosocial well-being.

It said solutions including IVF [in-vitro fertilisation] are “underfunded and inaccessible to many due to high costs, social stigma and limited availability.” 

The health body warned of “devastating financial costs” as people seek to fund fertility treatment themselves.  The WHO said: 

People in the poorest countries spend a greater proportion of their income on fertility care compared to people in wealthier countries. 

“High costs frequently prevent people from accessing infertility treatments or alternatively, can catapult them into poverty as a consequence of seeking care.” 

Director of Sexual and Reproductive Health and Research at WHO Professor Pascale Allotey said: “Millions of people face catastrophic healthcare costs after seeking treatment for infertility, making this a major equity issue and all too often, a medical poverty trap for those affected.” 

She called for “better policies and public financing” to improve access to treatment and especially to help poorer households.

The WHO also called in general for better data collection on the risks, including around the causes, of infertility.

The Infertility Prevalence Report is available on the WHO website.