A new report from the World Health Organization (WHO) has revealed that infertility affects one in six people globally, a lifetime prevalence of 17.5%, which is higher than previously estimated. The report shows that rates of infertility are similar across all countries and regions, with no substantial differences between high-income and low- and middle-income countries. However, access to fertility treatments varies widely, with people in the poorest countries spending a significantly larger proportion of their income on a single cycle of IVF or fertility care than people in wealthier countries. The report has been welcomed by Dr David Keefe, a reproductive endocrinologist and infertility specialist at the NYU Langone Fertility Center in New York, who said it was “a welcome acknowledgement of the other foot dropping on the population front”. Despite affecting one in six people globally, infertility remains “underfunded” and “inaccessible” to many patients due to high costs.