WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION NEWSLETTER
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Countries of the World Health Organization have mapped out how negotiations on a global accord on pandemic prevention, preparedness and response will move forward with a view to presenting a draft accord for approval by the World Health Assembly in May 2024. Ending Thursday, discussions on the draft pandemic accord took place during the fifth meeting of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Body (INB), which includes WHO’s 194 countries. Ms Precious Matsoso, Co-Chair of the INB Bureau, from South Africa, said: “Countries from all parts of the world were able to discuss their ideas, concerns and suggestions in a forum for all countries to hear and consider.” Countries agreed to keep a window open for additional written proposals until 22 April and that those proposals will be compiled with all others made over recent weeks into a package that will be made available to all drafting group participants. The INB Bureau will then provide, by 22 May, in addition to this package, for consideration of the Drafting Group, a Bureau’s Text, including options where feasible, based on all submissions received and included in the compilation document. The Drafting Group of the INB will then meet in June to continue negotiations. INB Bureau Co-Chair, Mr Roland Driece of the Netherlands, said: “The world realises that what we want and need to achieve is an accord that will help us not to repeat the mistakes of the COVID-19 pandemic response. There are many proposals and constructive suggestions on the table for how to do this.” According to the process agreed by governments at a special session of the World Health Assembly in late 2021, negotiations on the draft pandemic accord will aim to produce a final draft for consideration by the 77th World Health Assembly in May 2024. In parallel with the pandemic accord negotiations, governments are also discussing more than 300 amendments to the International Health Regulations (2005) (IHR) in an effort to strengthen those regulations and make the world safer from communicable diseases while ensuring greater equity in the global response to public health emergencies. Governments have been working to ensure consistency and alignment across the INB and IHR processes. The proposed IHR amendments will also be presented to the World Health Assembly in 2024, and would together, with a future pandemic accord, provide a comprehensive, complementary, and synergistic set of global health agreements.  1 in 6 people globally affected by infertility: WHOReading time: 2 min (617 words) Large numbers of people are affected by infertility in their lifetime, according to a new report published today by WHO. Around 17.5% of the adult population – roughly 1 in 6 worldwide – experience infertility, showing the urgent need to increase access to affordable, high-quality fertility care for those in need. The new estimates show limited variation in the prevalence of infertility between regions. The rates are comparable for high-, middle- and low-income countries, indicating that this is a major health challenge globally. Lifetime prevalence was 17.8% in high-income countries and 16.5% in low- and middle-income countries. “The report reveals an important truth: infertility does not discriminate,” said Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General at WHO. “The sheer proportion of people affected show 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. It can cause significant distress, stigma, and financial hardship, affecting people’s mental and psychosocial well-being. Despite the magnitude of the issue, solutions for the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of infertility – including assisted reproductive technology such as in vitro fertilization (IVF) – remain underfunded and inaccessible to many due to high costs, social stigma and limited availability. At present, in most countries, fertility treatments are largely funded out of pocket – often resulting in devastating financial costs. 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. "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,” said Dr Pascale Allotey, Director of Sexual and Reproductive Health and Research at WHO, including the United Nations’ Special Programme of Research, Development and Research Training in Human Reproduction (HRP). “Better policies and public financing can significantly improve access to treatment and protect poorer households from falling into poverty as a result.” About the report This report provides insight into global and regional infertility prevalence by analyzing all relevant studies from 1990 to 2021, taking into account different estimation approaches used. The search identified 12 241 records of potentially relevant studies across the world. Screening of these records led to the selection of 133 studies that were included in the analysis for the report. From these, relevant data points were used to generate pooled estimates, for lifetime and period infertility prevalence. New research on fertility treatment costs Separately, new research funded by HRP and WHO and published in the journal Human Reproduction Open assessed the costs associated with infertility treatments in low and middle-income countries. This analysis found that the direct medical costs paid by patients for a single round of in vitro fertilization (IVF) are often higher than the average annual income – indicating prohibitive costs for most people in these parts of the world. This research can be accessed at: https://academic.oup.com/hropen/article/2023/2/hoad007/7066921
While the new report shows convincing evidence of the high global prevalence of infertility, it highlights a persistent lack of data in many countries and some regions. It calls for greater availability of national data on infertility disaggregated by age and by cause to help with quantifying infertility, as well as knowing who needs fertility care and how risks can be reduced. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UZB6dpktnEA&t=5s |
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