FIGO2012: Fertility Tool Box launches

Rome, 9 October 2012

The FIGO Fertility Tool Box™, which was launched in Rome today, is a new instrument focused on alleviating the burden of infertility. It has been developed by the FIGO Committee for Reproductive Medicine, chaired by Professor David Adamson.

The FIGO Fertility Tool Box™ consists of six components dealing with:

Overcoming personal and social barriers to infertility care
Prevention
Diagnosis
Treatment
Referral and resolution
and the FIGO Fertility Daisy™.

The FIGO Fertility Daisy™ deals with why one should care about infertility and its management, which is justified by the positive impact on quality of life, burden of disease, political commitments, non-discrimination, family planning, prevention of sexually transmitted infections, affordability and protection of resources – each item symbolised by a petal of the daisy.

Why this tool?

In developing the FIGO Fertility Tool Box we decided to focus not on sophisticated infertility treatments, such as in vitro fertilisation or other assisted reproductive technologies, but to work within the range of generalist obstetricians and gynaecologists and down to lower level healthcare providers, including midwives and the public

Professor G David Adamson, Chair of FIGO's Committee on Reproductive Medicine

said Professor David Adamson, emphasising the simplicity, usability, and evidence linked aspects of the Tool Box, which can be adapted in different environments and countries.

It is hoped that this tool will be used used by many providers of women’s healthcare to increase access to quality, cost-effective infertility prevention and management. We have taken into account the international sensitivities with respect to culture, religion, politics and economics.

concluded Professor Adamson.

Though the tool is intended primiarily for women’s healthcare providers, it is also hoped it will be used by policy makers.

→ The FIGO Fertility Tool Box™