Sexual and reproductive health

Infertility

Worldwide, couples view infertility as a tragedy which carries social, economic and psychological consequences. In 1965, the 18th World Health Assembly recognized that under the auspices of family planning, building a family should be the free choice of the individual couple. In 2006, the UN General Assembly adopted the Secretary-General’s report recommending the inclusion of the target to achieve universal access to reproductive Health under the Millennium Development Goal 5, Improve maternal health.

The Department of Reproductive Health and Research recognizes that infertility is an unmet need in family planning in both the developed and developing world. As published in our joint WHO-DHS Comparative Report in 2004, based on data evaluated up to mid- 2002, one in four ever-married women of reproductive age in most developing countries are infertile because of primary or secondary infertility. The Department works to develop, support and establish protocols for infertility prevention, diagnosis and management.

Assisted Reproductive Technology (ART)

The International Committee for Monitoring Assisted Reproductive Technology (ICMART) and the World Health Organization (WHO) Revised Glossary on ART Terminology, 2009.

Revised glossary

Article published in the Human Reproduction Journal

Published in Human Reproduction, Vol.24, No.11 pp. 1–5, 2009.

Revised glossary

Article published in the Fertility and Sterility Journal

Published in Fertility and Sterility Vol. 92, No. 5, November 2009.

Selected publication

Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS) reports No. 9.

Infecundity, infertility, and childlessness in developing countries. Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS) Comparative reports No. 9

Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS) reports No. 9.

This study utilizes data from 47 Demographic and Health Surveys in developing countries to examine levels, trends, and differentials in women’s inability to bear children. In addition, levels of sexual experience, pregnancy, and live births were measured. The study also examined some of the consequences and coping mechanisms of couples affected by infertility.