Janet Ogundepo
No fewer than 12 fertility-challenged couples have been enrolled in a subsidised in-vitro fertilisation treatment programme under a partnership between the Wilson O. A. R. Initiative and FertProMax Fertility Clinic.
The initiative, which offers up to 70 per cent financial aid to low-income earners and couples who have waited at least 10 years for children, was launched as part of the 50th birthday celebration of the clinic’s Managing Director, Olajide Wilson.
The initiative was created to address the high financial burden faced by low-income-earning couples seeking fertility treatment in Nigeria.
Speaking during the inauguration of the initiative in Kigali, Rwanda, Wilson said the programme was a corporate social responsibility aimed at improving access to IVF services for financially disadvantaged couples.
“This initiative, although prompted by the realisation of the huge access impediments facing fertility-challenged couples, especially those in the low-income pool, is meant to widen access to IVF services so they can also share in the joyful moments of parenthood,” he said.
Wilson, a clinical embryologist and member of the Association for Fertility and Reproductive Health Nigeria, noted that the cost of IVF remained the biggest barrier to access to treatment in Nigeria, adding that a single cycle costs between N3m and N15m.
Continuing, he said, “And to make matters worse, IVF services are largely offered by the private sector and are not covered by the National Health Insurance Scheme, the government-owned HMO largely focusing on civil servants in the federal and state MDAs,” he stated.
Fertpromax MD further said that over 4,000 applications were received from Nigeria and some West African countries within the two weeks the registration portal was open.
Wilson added that after an initial screening process based on applicants’ financial status, duration of infertility, medical suitability and willingness to undergo the procedure, over 20 applicants were shortlisted for further screening before 12 couples were selected for treatment.
“At the end of the initial screening exercise based on their entries, we shortlisted over 20 entries and invited the prospects for further screening, from which we selected the 12 couples that have begun the treatment procedure.
“It should be noted that the treatment offer is tailored to the medical needs of the candidates – ovum/sperm donation and surrogacy options and covers the various aspects of treatment – from sperm and egg extraction to medication, tests, IVF proper and embryo transfer,” he further stated.
The Managing Director of FertProMax Fertility Clinic said the programme would run one cycle this year, with plans to expand to two cycles annually in subsequent years.
He urged couples who could not secure a slot in the inaugural edition to apply in future cycles when registration reopens.
“This initiative, which is his give-back platform to the society that has been good to him, will run one cycle of this initiative this year, but hopes to run two cycles in the subsequent years.
“He called on those who could not be accommodated in this inaugural cycle and others who fall into the target group to feel free to apply for the program when the portal opens for subsequent cycles,” the clinical embryologist noted.
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