Over the past 10 years, infertility in Armenia has been reduced by nearly half, according to new data released by the Ministry of Health (MOH). Last year, 16.8 percent of reproductive-aged women were found infertile, compared with 31.5 percent at the start of the decade.

Gayane Avagyan, Chief Specialist at the MOH Department of Mother and Child Healthcare, says that in the 1990s infertility cases were mostly due to hard social conditions and long-lasting stress.

Currently specialists connect the reduction of infertility cases (both among women and men) with sexual behavior, awareness of sexually transmitted infections (STI) prevention, and a quieter form of life.

According to Avagyan, the main reasons for infertility are Fallopian tube obstruction resulting from inflammatory diseases, and endocrine diseases.

Even though infertility cases decreased in Armenia, Edward Hambardzumyan, Head of the Armenian Association of Reproductive Medicine, believes that it is necessary to take immediate steps in family planning, so that parents have at least two-three children.

“If the population growth rates remain the same, then in 40-50 years, the population of Armenia will be cut in half,” Hambardzumyan says.

Cures for infertility – and particularly artificial insemination – are too expensive for most Armenian couples. Avagyan says, however, that the Government simply cannot finance such procedures.