Specialists in fertility health throughout the Asia Pacific region are advancing strategies that have the potential to dramatically reverse declining population projections this century.
They are also working to create APAC centres and networks of excellence to improve the lives of millions of women and teenage girls who suffer from the painful and debilitating effects of endometriosis.
These issues are some of the key objectives for the Asia Pacific Initiative on Reproduction (ASPIRE), a united task force of scientists, doctors, nurses and fertility counsellors who are dedicated to promoting awareness of fertility health and assisted conception, and to improving infertility-related services in the region.
The ASPIRE 2024 Congress held recently in the Philippines was the latest springboard for action on these issues.
Almost 1,300 delegates from 40 countries attended the Congress in Manila to explore the latest advances in scientific research and clinical care of patients experiencing infertility.
Around the world, one in every six couples experience infertility, which is defined as the failure to conceive after a year of unprotected intercourse, or the inability to carry pregnancies to a live birth. The causes of infertility are equally shared between male and female partners.
ASPIRE President, Dr Clare Boothroyd, a leading Australian fertility specialist, said outcomes from the congress would empower the region and help shape the future of assisted conception throughout the world.
Dr Boothroyd said ASPIRE members were united in working to create more equitable and affordable access to treatments for fertility health and personalisation of care, especially in lower socio-economic settings.
“ASPIRE is a vibrant and progressive society and its global status continues to grow through research and clinical advances in our region,” she added.
ASPIRE is driving a reform blueprint called Fertility Counts promoting a series of family friendly strategies to governments and policy makers with a focus on factors that encourage family planning at a younger age including more flexible tertiary study and workplace conditions, improved childcare services, maternity and paternity leave reforms and other financial incentives for parenthood.
…2/
2
Dr Boothroyd said there were complex factors contributing to declining fertility rates including work, study and financial pressures, growing urbanisation and environmental concerns combining to force couples to delay parenthood, often beyond their prime reproductive years.
Fertility Counts has been launched in countries including New Zealand, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam and ASPIRE is working to expand awareness of its strategies in other settings.
“Our widening scientific exchange with leaders in reproductive medicine in APAC countries and beyond will be vital in addressing the disturbing decline in fertility rates across the world, and especially in the Asia Pacific region,” Dr Boothroyd said.
ASPIRE is also pushing ahead with plans to create centres and networks of expertise to treat endometriosis and an associated chronic condition called adenomyosis – debilitating conditions that affect up to 10 per cent of females causing chronic pain and potential fertility problems. The focus is on sharing knowledge and developing a consensus position among reproductive health specialists in APAC countries on the treatment of these conditions.
“The ASPIRE Congress in Manila was also a seminal meeting in that we launched our first certificate course in embryology, which will be one of the finest in the world,” Dr Boothroyd said.
“ASPIRE President-elect, Dr Haroon Latif, and his accreditation committee have been working hard on the course materials for the past two years and the first examination is planned for May 2025 with the aim of elevating the professional status of embryologists, andrologists and medical technicians.
“We have so many exciting on-line ventures including our education podcast series with experts in reproductive health, webinars and masterclasses.
“There are also two ASPIRE regional meetings this year to advance our roles and objectives – firstly in Pune in August with the Indian Society for Assisted Reproduction, and then in Dhaka in December with the Fertility and Sterility Society of Bangladesh.
“These really are amazing times for ASPIRE building on the success of the ASPIRE 2024 Congress. It was a great forum in Manila, and I am confident that each person who attended took back knowledge and ideas to enhance patient centred care in their workplaces.
“Our hosts in the Philippines gave us such a warm welcome with an added sense of fun that paved the way for great engagement between delegates and with invited speakers and trade exhibitors.
“Thank you to everyone who commits to ASPIRE from Board representatives, Special Interest Group participants, contributors to our journal Fertility & Reproduction, country representatives and members across the region.”