President sings against infertility
Weah |
Today, several males, including
prominent leaders in Africa, are championing the cause to raise awareness on
infertility, breaking the stigma as well as taking on initiatives to support
and encourage the works of charity organizations such as the Merck Foundation
which continues to endeavor to put a smile on the faces of several people
struggling with infertility.
Among several programs being
initiated by MF to reshape the narrative on infertility through a new dimension
of awareness which includes the formulation of dramas, cultural and arts
programs as well as songs, it seems like the involvement of prominent
individuals has added great traction to the campaign, thereby making the fight
against infertility stigmatization more effective and relevant.
Recently, as a way of making his
own contribution towards breaking the infertility stigma in Africa, the
President of Liberia, George Weah, elevated the campaign through the melody of
his voice, singing passionately a glorious song in support of MF’s More Than a
Mother campaign.
MTAM campaign is a strong
movement that aims to empower infertile women through access to information,
education and change of mindsets.
The campaign supports governments
in defining policies to enhance access to education, regulate safe and
effective fertility care, defining further interventions to break the stigma
around infertile women and raise awareness about infertility prevention,
management and male infertility.
In the song, Weah reminded men
“to support their women and stop the blame game.”
Some African traditions,
according to research, rest the burden of childbearing entirely on women, in
direct disregard to the fact that even men can be infertile.
One World Health Organization
(WHO) report said infertility programs are especially critical in sub-Saharan
Africa. While the region has some of the highest birth rates in the world, it
also has one of the highest rates of infertility globally.
The report entails that the fight
against infertility as well as breaking stigma against infertile people must be
taken to a new height as a way of sending a resounding message with resultant
impacts.
This has been the motive of the
master symphony crafted by the Liberian leader. He intoned that men should
check themselves, consciously reminding them that “men too can be affected by
infertility” and that they should stop blaming women even if they cannot have a
child, knowing that women are “more than a mother.”
In many cultures, Weah pinpointed
that childless women suffer from discrimination, adding that “a woman should be
loved and cared for, a woman should be respected and get all the benefits from
marriage regardless of having children or not.”
He noted that society should not
frown on a woman who doesn’t have a child but rather celebrate her and stop
abusing her, while encouraging men to be supportive of their women who cannot
have children and stop abusing them physically and emotionally.
“Women are more than a mother,”
he reminds all and sundry, stating that even if a woman is unable to give birth
to a child, she can become anything else, even a lawyer or a doctor.
Around the world, the WHO further
said, more than 180 million couples face infertility. In the poorest countries,
it says, the 12-month infertility prevention rate- failure to achieve a
clinical pregnancy after 12 months or more of regular unprotected sex ranges
from 6.9 to 9.3 percent.
The fight against infertility and
stigmatization can be won regardless of the grim projections as shown by
several statistics, however, support must be given to movements and campaigns
which are geared towards breaking stigma of infertility as well as those
educating people on the health condition.
World leaders and prominent
individuals on the global scene must rally around charity organizations like
the Merck Foundation to give infertile people the hope of living a comfortable
life beyond childbearing.
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