The fertility care gap in the Global South: lessons from The Gambia, West Africa, and ways forward to establish fertility care for all

Abstract

Infertility is a neglected global public health issue affecting an estimated 56–72 million couples worldwide. The prevention and management of infertility was recognized as a basic component of sexual and reproductive health at the landmark 1994 International Conference on Population and Development, yet progress in this area remains limited. Interdisciplinary research has been conducted in The Gambia, West Africa, since 2016, with communities, women’s organizations, clinicians, and health policy and systems stakeholders, to identify key gaps in fertility care, and to better understand the delivery of infertility services. A partnership between the Ministry of Health, Safe Haven Foundation, and international researchers helped create The Gambia’s National Infertility Awareness Campaign and gave birth to the Fertility Care Policy Dialogue supporting the inclusion of infertility in The Gambia’s new 10-year National Health Policy. It also helped to establish the White Rose Interdisciplinary Network on Fertility Care in the Global South. To date, the network has more than 60 members globally, including researchers, health workers, policy makers, and activists who work together on infertility awareness raising, policy change, and system strengthening, with the aim of improving equitable access to fertility care for all. Here, we introduce the network and draw on key lessons from ongoing infertility-related research in The Gambia.