MAURITIUS – Mauritius has established the first public Fertility Clinic at the Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam (SSR) National Hospital in Pamplemousses to offer prevention, diagnosis and treatment of infertility.

Infertility is a health condition of the male or female reproductive system that causes failure to achieve a pregnancy after 12 months or more of regular unprotected sexual intercourse.

About 48 million couples and 186 million individuals live with infertility globally indicating that equitable, available, access and quality of interventions to address infertility remains a challenge in most countries.

The inaugurated Fertility Clinic will provide a holistic approach to couples who are facing difficulties in conceiving babies based on the assessment, diagnosis and treatment modalities.

It will provide vital healthcare services to couples who want to conceive but can’t through the natural course since the country’s fertility rate is quite low as compared to other countries.

The new facility comes at the right time when Mauritius is facing an ageing population issue where there are fewer working-age people in the economy leading to a supply shortage of qualified workers.

The Minister of Health and Wellness Dr Kailesh Kumar Singh Jagutpal highlighted that existing advanced reproduction techniques such as artificial insemination and in-vitro fertilization will be offered to eligible couples.

Dr Kailesh Kumar Singh Jagutpal stated that several factors such as non-communicable diseases, alcohol among other influences can have a negative impact on fertility of men and women.

The Ministry has set up a unit to allow registration of patients in a sub-fertility database then each patient can benefit from a set of diagnosis and a proposed plan of action according to his/her needs,” revealed Dr Jagutpal.

The Ministry of Health and Wellness also introduced an Epidural Service for women undergoing normal delivery at SSR National Hospital to provide mothers with prolonged relief during childbirth.

The reproductive healthcare service will be extended to the other Regional Hospitals as soon as the necessary facilities are available and the personnel would have been trained,” he said.

The Minister further outlined the series of health services recently launched and being offered in hospitals despite the COVID-19 pandemic while encouraging future mothers to avail the services available at the SSR National Hospital.

He also commended all medical staff for their contribution in the worrying times due to the COVID-19 pandemic and urged them to continue to giving their best in their line of work.

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