Speak out -- Break the Silence around Sub/infertility
View knowledge productSexual and reproductive health and rights are intrinsically linked to gender equality and people’s well-being, serving as a prerequisite for sustainable development. The Guttmacher-Lancet Commission’s report highlights sub/infertility as a sensitive yet neglected topic within sexual and reproductive health (SRH). Beyond a rights-based perspective, the evidence underscores that sub/infertility is correlated with and can lead to mental stress, intimate partner violence, stigma, and economic hardship. Moreover, while both women and men experience sub/infertility, women often face more blame, particularly in low- and middle-income countries. Undoubtedly, people’s access to information, counselling, prevention, and care for sub/infertility is not just a reproductive right but also an issue of health equity and gender equality.
To tackle this issue, policymakers and influencers must recognize that sub/infertility can be either preventable or treatable. Access to relevant information and services, such as comprehensive sex education materials, stigma-free counselling, and affordable, accessible solutions, is imperative to ensure equitable access to care in the future. Consequently, two knowledge products have been developed as tools for awareness, advocacy, and action to encourage everyone to break the silence and address infertility.
The first product is a short film that uses real people’s stories to establish empathic connections between viewers and storytellers. Targeting policymakers and global influencers, these videos are available in Arabic, Bangala, and Kirundi, with subtitles in English, French, and Arabic on YouTube. (Click below on the YouTube playlist).
The second knowledge product is a policy brief along with an executive summary detailing the scale and repercussions of infertility, emphasizing its correlation with broader human rights principles, a sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) agenda, and the sustainable development goals (available for download in English, French, and Spanish below).
Knowledge product details
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Small Grants
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2020
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Bangladesh
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Burundi
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Jordan
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Advocacy
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Fertility and/or infertility
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Gender
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Share-Net Bangladesh
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Share-Net Burundi
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Share-Net Jordan
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Arabic
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English
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French
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Kirundi
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Spanish
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Executive Summary
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Policy Brief
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Video