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NEW DELHI: The World Health Organisation (WHO) on Friday urged countries — including India — to make fertility care safer, fairer and affordable, releasing its first-ever global guideline on the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of infertility.Infertility affects 1 in 6 adults of reproductive age, yet access to fertility services remains limited and costly. In many countries, including India, treatment is largely paid out-of-pocket, leaving couples to bear catastrophic expenses. A single IVF cycle can cost more than an average family’s annual income, pushing many toward unregulated or unproven therapies.Calling infertility “one of the most overlooked public-health challenges,” WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said millions are priced out of care or forced to choose between treatment and financial security.The guideline issues 40 recommendations to strengthen early diagnosis, cost-effective treatment pathways and integration of fertility services into national health systems. It stresses prevention through awareness about fertility, age-related decline, healthy lifestyles, and tackling leading causes such as untreated sexually transmitted infections and tobacco use.WHO also highlights the emotional burden — depression, anxiety, stigma and isolation — and calls for routine psychosocial support. Countries have been asked to adapt the recommendations to local contexts, expand insurance or public financing, and align fertility care with rights-based reproductive health policies.“The prevention and treatment of infertility must be grounded in gender equality and reproductive rights,” said Dr Pascale Allotey of WHO’s Department of Sexual, Reproductive, Maternal, Child and Adolescent Health and Ageing and the United Nations’ Special Programme on Human Reproduction (HRP).Future updates will address fertility preservation, third-party reproduction and the impact of pre-existing medical conditions.