Major strategic engagement program to create greater awareness of fertility health issues in the APAC region

SINGAPORE, May 12, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- The Asia Pacific Initiative on Reproduction (ASPIRE) – the peak body harnessing expertise in assisted conception throughout the region – will embark on a major public education and awareness program on fertility health.

It is also working to broaden its patient advocacy role through closer engagement with governments, policy makers and public influencers to highlight problems confronting the one in six couples who experience infertility.

ASPIRE President and Pakistani fertility specialist, Dr Haroon Latif, said the objective was to create better understanding and responses to the issues that impact directly on those living with infertility including providing equitable and affordable access to treatment and dealing with the psychological fall-out from the struggle to conceive.

Newly elevated to the ASPIRE Presidency, Dr Latif said the groundwork had been laid for these initiatives with the focus on practical strategies to advance fertility services in the Asia Pacific region and to improve the quality of patient care for those striving for parenthood.

"This has become a critical issue as the region, and the world, faces alarming falls in total fertility rates that threaten population replacement levels and the likelihood of major socio-economic ramifications," he said.

"ASPIRE has created a population sustainability action group to tackle these issues and help drive our engagement priorities with fertility care providers, patients and those who have influence over public health policy."

Dr Latif said this was particularly important in countries where low resource settings present greater challenges in the quest for family building.

"We recognise the challenges through the geographic vastness of the region with its socio-economic and cultural diversity, but the task at hand is critical to promote fertility health awareness and best patient outcomes," he explained.

Cambodian-based endocrinologist, Professor Dominique de Ziegler – who has long experience in health, social and family issues in Southeast Asia – will Co-Chair the population sustainability special interest group with ASPIRE's Immediate Past President, Dr Clare Boothroyd from Australia.

Dr Latif said the recent ASPIRE 2025 Congress in Singapore, which attracted over 2,000 experts in various disciplines of assisted reproduction, created an energised springboard for the public awareness and broader engagement strategy.

"The scientific program at the Congress was an outstanding showcase of the quality of research and clinical practice in our region and its relevance for those trying to create families," he said.

"Additionally, ASPIRE has developed extensive education and professional development programs to enhance the skills of scientists, clinicians, nurses and counsellors in our field with the focus on delivering best practice on behalf of patients.

"The introduction of an ASPIRE certification course for embryologists, with the first accreditation exam held during the ASPIRE Congress in Singapore, is a prime example of how the organisation is working to elevate standards of practice while formally recognising the skills and importance of laboratory staff."  

Dr Latif said the Asia Pacific region, especially developing countries within it, could gain so much from professional engagement and interaction with some of the best practitioners in the world through ASPIRE's close association with international bodies including the:

• European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology;
• American Society for Reproductive Medicine;
• International Federation of Fertility Societies; and
• Global Andrology Forum.

"We will also work to create closer collaborative engagement with national societies in fertility health with a focus on joint education activities to help set new benchmarks in quality care," Dr Latif added.

"Consensus is a key factor as we work together to achieve our objectives including raising awareness and understanding of treatment options for infertility among health care professionals and the public."

Dr Latif is a clinical embryologist and sexual health specialist, Chief Executive of the Lahore Institute of Fertility and Endocrinology and Managing Director of Hameed Latif Hospital in Lahore.  He is General Secretary of the IVF Society of Pakistan and a Founding Member of the Pakistan Society of Andrology and Sexual Medicine.

"I honour and acknowledge the retiring ASPIRE President, Dr Boothroyd, who has devoted extraordinary time and energy to our cause," he said. "She has been a superb and committed leader who laid a solid foundation for many of the important tasks ahead."

INTERVIEW:

Dr Haroon Latif is available for interview.
To arrange, please contact Trevor Gill, ASPIRE Media Relations.
Tel: (Australia) +61 418 821948 email: [email protected]