In the last 10 years, the sperm count of men across the country has dropped by 30 per cent, according to a report from the Nordica Fertility and Fibroid Care Centre.
The Centre noted that while male infertility is on the rise globally, in Nigeria, its data showed that the region most hit by this condition are states in the oil producing region of the country.
It further revealed that the primary cause of this alarming rate of infertility among men is majorly due to unhealthy lifestyle choices, especially excessive drinking, smoking, use of sex enhancing drugs, sedentary lifestyle and stress, among others.
The Chief Medical Director of Nordica Fertility and Fibroid Care Centre, Dr. Abayomi Ajayi, who made this known during a briefing to commemorate its 10 years anniversary in Abuja, also called for legislation on assisted conception to reduce quackery in the country.
He said: “Men now are probably the greater culprit in infertility. What we say normally is that it is between 30 to 40 per cent for men and 30 to 40 per cent for women. But we know now that all over the world and in Nigeria, the male factor is increasing.
“We analysed data from all our centres. One thing we saw was that when we looked at sperm count 10 years apart, we saw that there was a decline of 30 per cent in the sperm count of the men we are treating 10 years after.
“There is a part of the country that is worse for this – the oil producing areas. They are really having a bad run with this.
“Without sounding like an alarmist, men are becoming more extinct. The good thing is that technology is helping to an extent.”
In a related event, the Coordinator of the Peace for Humanity Foundation Nigeria, Godwin Udo, while announcing the proposed South-South Regional Health Summit in Akwa Ibom, in partnership with the Federal Ministry of Health, raised the alarm over the increasing rate of male impotency, birth defects, lung cancer, early girl menstruation, among other health issues bedeviling oil producing states in Nigeria.
“Pollution of all kinds and dangerous emissions fuel climate change, instilling economic hardship and death in the South-South region.
“In spite of billions of dollars generated from the region for sustenance of the nation’s economy, some communities, families and persons are living in abject poverty with huge health burdens year in year out,” he said.
