Documentation of infertility prevalence, treatment access and treatment outcomes in developing countries

Background and current knowledge To set up adequate fertility services in a country, a national evaluation of the basic need of such services is desirable, i.e. an evaluation of the national prevalence of infertility. The reason is that the prevalence of infertility varies between countries mainly due to variations in lifestyle factors causing or contributing to the infertility status, dominantly the time interval between the age where sexuality is initiated and the age where first pregnancy is desired, and of course, the preva-lence of sexually transmitted diseases (STDs). In urban com-munities, women tend to seek fertility treatment too late in their reproductive life and with difficult access to appropriate diagnostic and therapeutic facilities. The actual ‘demand ’ for medical services and the obstacles encountered in seeking treatments vary considerably between countries, mainly du