The Fertility Society of Ghana (FerSoG) has called for state support to provide safe, accessible, and affordable fertility services to couples unable to conceive naturally.
The Fertility Society is worried many desperate couples are resorting to harmful herbal treatments because medical procedures are expensive and difficult to come by.
According to the World Health Organization one in six adults experiences infertility; determined by their inability to achieve pregnancy after a year of having unprotected sex.
The need for medically assisted births to be made safe, accessible, and affordable to this significant population; informed discussions at the 7th annual general and scientific meeting of the Fertility Society of Ghana
President of the society Dr. Rudolph Kantum Adageba admitted that apart from the woefully inadequate number of fertility care facilities in Ghana, a veritable barrier preventing many couples from seeking fertility care professionally is the prohibitive cost associated with fertility treatments.
He advocated for government to establish public fertility care centers and include basic if not all procedures under the national health insurance scheme.
He pointed out, “So many cities in Ghana don’t have IVF centers. In fact, in the whole of northern Ghana, there is no center. If the government has resources, it can open centers at least at the teaching hospitals like the Tamale Teaching Hospital; Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital, and the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital to augment what the private sector is doing.”
“The society is also advocating strongly that government should incorporate this into the National Health Insurance so that at least they can do the basic tests like scanning of the uterus and sperm analysis for free just as they do for other diseases,” he added.
Chairing the event, fertility specialist PROFESSOR A.T. Odoi, who established the first fertility center in the Ashanti Region, expressed worry unqualified herbal medicine practitioners are exploiting the public using unsafe procedures that leave desperate couples worse off.
“Because the herbalists do a lot of adverts; that is where they go first. They are exposed to treatments that are not safe not to mention the exploitation. There is real human abuse and exploitation and this Is happening,” he bemoaned.
The Safety of Assisted Reproductive Technologies and its health, economic, social, cultural, psychological, emotional and legal considerations engaged the attention of the AGSM.
Immediate past president of the Fertility Society of Ghana Dr. Edem Hiadzi, called for a speedy drafting and passage of the Fertility Bill to provide a standing legal framework that regulates the sector.
He explained, “the fertility society has helped the health ministry to put together the guidelines for establishing regulations for assisted reproduction including IVF. It is now with the Attorney General’s Department who is writing it into a bill that will be presented before parliament.”
This year’s FerSoG AGSM organized under the theme Safety of art therapies in Ghana; the role of stakeholders saw the launching of the first FerSoG News letter to inspire connect and unite Assisted Reproductive Technologies professionals across Africa.
Special Guest of Honor, the Hon. Member of Parliament for Ayawaso West Wuogon; Lydia Seyram Alhassan was honored together with other outstanding society members for their continuous support, dedication and commitment to the Society.
Source: Ghana/Starrfm.com.gh/103.5FM/Ivan Heathcote – Fumador
