Nigeria is emerging as a destination for fertility treatment as patients from other African countries and the diaspora increasingly travel to the country for in-vitro fertilisation (IVF) and other assisted reproductive procedures because of relatively lower costs.

Fertility experts disclosed this on Thursday in Abuja at a joint conference organised by the Association for Fertility and Reproductive Health (AFRH) and the African Federation of Fertility Societies (AFFS).

The experts described the trend as “reverse medical tourism”, saying Nigeria now has the capacity to provide advanced fertility services comparable to those available in other parts of the world.
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They, however, identified the high cost of treatment, dependence on imported fertility drugs and medical supplies, inadequate data, limited insurance coverage and weak regulation as challenges confronting the sector.

President of AFRH, Prof. Preye Fiebai, said Nigeria had made significant progress in reproductive medicine but remained under-recognised because of poor documentation of fertility treatment activities across the country.

Fiebai said Nigeria’s large population and expanding fertility treatment capacity placed it in a strong position to become a major reproductive health destination in Africa.

He noted that Nigeria faced a peculiar situation of having both a high fertility rate and a significant infertility burden, adding that infertility deserved greater attention within the country’s healthcare system.

According to him, Nigerian fertility centres have progressed from offering basic procedures to providing some of the more advanced reproductive technologies available internationally.

However, Fiebai said the cost of IVF remained a major obstacle for Nigerians seeking treatment, largely because most of the drugs and materials required for the procedures are imported.

He called for increased investment, research and collaboration to develop local alternatives and reduce dependence on imported products.

Fiebai also identified poor reporting of IVF procedures as a factor limiting investment in the sector. He explained that pharmaceutical and medical companies were more likely to prioritise markets where treatment volumes were properly documented and appeared higher.

He said better data collection would help demonstrate the size and potential of Nigeria’s fertility market to investors and international partners.

Despite the relatively high cost of IVF within Nigeria, Fiebai said treatment remained cheaper than in several countries from which patients travel to the country.

“Despite this high cost, IVF is much cheaper than most of the places where we are coming from,” he said.

He added that Nigerians requiring fertility treatment were, however, often unable to afford it because of economic challenges.

Fiebai therefore called for greater government intervention and broader health insurance coverage to make fertility services accessible to more Nigerians.

On regulation, he said fertility practitioners were working with the National Assembly towards establishing a comprehensive legal framework for assisted reproductive technology.

He disclosed that fertility professionals had made submissions on a proposed Assisted Reproductive Technology Bill in 2023 and were still working towards refining the proposed legislation.

According to him, effective regulation would protect patients, fertility practitioners and children born through assisted reproductive procedures.

Fiebai also said fertility practitioners must operate within existing Nigerian laws on abortion, noting that voluntary termination of pregnancy remains generally prohibited except in circumstances permitted by law.

Meanwhile, immediate past AFRH president, Dr Ibrahim Wada, advocated greater awareness and adoption of egg freezing as a fertility preservation option for women who may wish to delay childbearing.

Wada said fertility preservation could also benefit people undergoing medical treatments that could impair their ability to produce eggs or sperm.

He described egg freezing as a safe procedure available in Nigeria and urged greater public awareness of the option.

Chairman of the Local Organising Committee for the forthcoming fertility conference, Dr Sunday Onuh, said the event would showcase Africa’s growing expertise in fertility science and treatment.

Onuh noted that the continent was increasingly receiving patients from outside Africa who sought quality fertility services at more affordable prices.

President of the AFFS, Paul La Roux, said participants from across Africa and other parts of the world were expected at the Abuja conference scheduled for September 24 to 26.

Fiebai said more than 1,000 fertility and reproductive health professionals were expected at the event, which he described as the first of its kind to be hosted in Nigeria.

The conference, themed “Fertility Frontiers, Global Innovations and Advances in Human Reproduction,” will bring together doctors, nurses, embryologists, counsellors, lawyers and other professionals involved in reproductive healthcare.

Representatives of the European Society of Human Reproduction and Endocrinology and the American Society for Reproductive Medicine are also expected to attend.

President-elect of the AFFS, Mohamed Khrouf, described the gathering as a major step in strengthening collaboration among African fertility professionals, noting that the growing global interest in the event reflected the increasing relevance of Africa’s fertility sector.