With one in every four Nigerian couples likely to experience problem making babies, stakeholders in the reproductive health space have called on more awareness on fertility solutions to avert infertility rate in Nigeria.
The president of the Fertility Awareness Advocacy Initiative (FAAI), Mr. Kesena Igben, at a virtual media roundtable, said infertility is a global challenge, as around 17.5 per cent of the adult population – roughly 1 in 6 worldwide – experience infertility, showing the urgent need to increase awareness on access to affordable, high-quality fertility care for those in need.
Igben reiterated his commitment to creating more awareness on fertility solutions in Nigeria, while calling on couples battling with fertility related issues to visited the FAAI to connect, share experiences, and receive emotional support, as they journey towards carrying their bundle of joy.
“Infertility is a global challenge, and FAAI raises awareness and educates the public about available treatment options, this can help to dispel the common myths and misconceptions surrounding infertility. I am actually looking toward where we should be by the end of the year and how we will create massive awareness. For those of us that have benefited from FAAI’s advocacy, the joy that we received cannot be quantified, and for me as president, the task is to be able to publicise this awareness so well that people become aware of it,” the president averred.
Reeling off some of their activities, Igben noted that series of symposiums, TV shows, and TV talks were being done to promote its awareness drive on fertility solutions in Nigeria. “The initiative says it hopes to facilitate this by taking its advocacy drive to the doorstep of Nigerians through enhance its presence in the public space and synergizing its activities.
“If people are aware and then they join this Association, then we can show them the path, the easy way to resolve some of these fertility issues. In Africa, particularly Nigeria, there is a lot of superstition. Something will be happening, and instead of people to research and find solution, they go spiritual. Everybody just becomes spiritual, but no, we should be able to stop that process – that is our goal; how to stop the process, how to make people to be aware, how people should or should not seek help, how we can give counseling to people through a counseling hub. If there is a hotline whereby you can call in, somebody’s there to attend to you, to listen to you.
“So we are going to create a framework, a framework to be able to synergize, but the key thing is for us is visibility through all the channels. If information is going out regularly for people to be aware, and they know how to reach out to us, a time will come that we will be able to give solutions to so many families and bring joy to them,” he explained.
The vice president, FAAI, Mrs Vivian Patrick, said FAAI fights for better access to fertility care and resources in Nigeria, and was focused on lobbying the government for policy changes and raising funds to subsidize treatment costs. “It is through awareness that people will get to know and understand what infertility issues are and how to go about dealing with them, because a lot of people are just hiding in their shells. They are facing this problem, but society and the environment have not made it easy for them to come out and talk or seek for help in the appropriate place. So one of FAAI’s objectives is to bridge this gap,” she disclosed
On her part, FAAI ecretary, Mrs. Victoria Agubama, regretted the myths circulating about assisted fertility programmes. “We need to break those myths. We are taking the bull by the horn, by creating more awareness on fertility solutions,” she added.
