Merck Foundation Chief Executive Officer, Dr. Rasha Kelej, has advised people to stop blaming women if faced with infertility since it is both women and men who gets affected.
Kelej said this during a virtual media training on issues of infertility, saying people must fight against discrimination and stigma following infertility.
“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,” said Kelej.
Kamuzu University of Health Sciences (Kuhes) lecturer in obstetrics and gynecology Dr. Martha Masamba has urged those facing fertility problems to seek medical attention from the hospital.
“While some procedures such as Invitro fertilisation (IVF) are not yet conducted in Malawi, some conditions such as blocked tubes in women can be treated,” she said.
Masamba said in every five families in Malawi, one experiences infertility.
The training was conducted in partnership with the Media Council of Malawi.
Merck Foundation, established in 2017, is the philanthropic arm of Merck KGaA, Germany that aims to improve the health and wellbeing of people and advance their lives through science and technology.
