Media urged to help fight infertility stigma
The Merck Foundation, an international organisation that seeks to improve the health and wellbeing of people, has urged the media to help fight the stigma and discrimination associated with infertility.
Speaking on Thursday during a virtual media training on issues surrounding infertility, Merck Foundation chief executive officer Dr. Rasha Kelej said community members need to understand that infertility equally affects both men and women and should stop pushing the blame on women alone.
She said: “It takes both a man and a woman to have a child. The cause of infertility is 50 percent from men and 50 percent from women, why is a woman only blamed if the family is unable to have children? Communities must understand that every woman is a mother even without giving birth.”
Kelej spoke of the need for the media to report more on issues related to infertility in Malawi and educate the masses on safe sex as well as unsafe abortions and poor nutrition, some of the contributing factors to infertility.
Kamuzu University of Health Sciences lecturer in obstetrics and gynaecology Dr. Martha Masamba said one in every five families in Malawi experiences infertility, calling on families facing fertility challenges to seek medical attention.
“While some procedures such as In vitro fertilisation (IVF) are not yet conducted in Malawi, some conditions such as blocked tubes in women can be treated,” she said.
The training was conducted in partnership with the Media Council of Malawi.
Media Council of Malawi chairperson Wisdom Chimgwede called on the media to develop interest on issues of infertility so that they report accurately and help change the society narratives on such issues.
Through its More Than a Mother programme, Merck Foundation is working with the First Lady Monica Chakwera, offering economic, psychological and medical support to women facing fertility challenges in the country.
The organisation is also training doctors in fertility treatment and awarding scholarships to girls in different secondary schools as a way of empowering future mothers.
