Both men and women urged to monitor lifestyle habits as infertility burden rises across sub-Saharan Africa

Couples struggling to conceive should take a hard look at their coffee consumption, a leading Ghanaian fertility specialist has warned, adding that excessive intake of the popular beverage can significantly impair reproductive health in both men and women.

Dr Edem K. Hiadzi, Founder of Lister Hospital and Fertility Centre and immediate past President of the Fertility Society of Ghana, issued the caution during a Merck Foundation Health Media Training held online, urging would-be parents to scrutinise every aspect of their lifestyle.

“Once the baby isn’t coming, watch every single thing you do,” Dr Hiadzi told participants at the training, which was designed to equip journalists across Africa with the tools to cover infertility issues accurately, sensitively and in line with international media ethics standards.

A Broader Crisis

The coffee warning came as part of a wider discussion on the alarming burden of infertility across sub-Saharan Africa — one of the regions with the highest prevalence of the condition globally.

Dr Hiadzi outlined a range of contributing factors, including sexually transmitted infections (STIs) such as Chlamydia and gonorrhoea, which can trigger pelvic inflammatory disease and lead to either infertility or ectopic pregnancies. He also cited unsafe delivery practices by traditional birth attendants and faith-based facilities, noting that non-sterile procedures frequently result in severe pelvic infections that compromise future pregnancies.

Other causes identified by the specialist include tuberculosis, schistosomiasis, female genital mutilation — which he described as still occurring in parts of the developing world — HIV infection, obesity, underweight conditions, poor diet, varicocele, viral infections such as mumps, previous hernia repair, and drug and alcohol abuse.

“HIV can affect the body’s ability to produce the hormones needed for pregnancy and may lead to early menopause,” he noted.

Men Not Spared

Challenging a widely held assumption that infertility is a woman’s problem, Dr Hiadzi stressed that approximately half of all infertility cases are attributable to male factors. He urged the public to shed this misconception and approach reproductive health as a shared responsibility.

The impacts of infertility, he said, extend far beyond the clinical — encompassing domestic violence, particularly against women, divorce, emotional distress, anxiety, depression and diminished self-worth.

Call for Responsible Media Coverage

The training also foregrounded the media’s critical role in reshaping public attitudes towards infertility. Vice-President of the Ghana Journalists Association, Rebecca Ekpe, urged journalists to prioritise expert-led reporting and exercise heightened caution on social media platforms, where misinformation and stigmatising narratives can spread rapidly.

Consultant psychiatrist Dr Francisca Tshitenge Bwalya echoed the call, stressing that media coverage of infertility must be both medically accurate and framed in ways that do not compound the social stigma already borne by those affected.

Dr Ruben Kanime, a Merck Foundation alumnus, also addressed the training, speaking to the importance of healthy lifestyles in preventing diabetes and hypertension — conditions increasingly linked to reproductive complications.

Dr Hiadzi closed with a direct appeal to journalists to help normalise the conversation around infertility, describing media practitioners as essential partners in driving the cultural and behavioural shifts needed to address one of Africa’s most under-reported public health challenges.

Doctors at the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital have suspended their strike action after reaching an agreement with hospital management over a simmering turf dispute at the facility’s Central Laboratory — bringing temporary relief to patients who had been left stranded when Out-Patient Department services were withdrawn.

The Korle Bu Doctors Association (KODA) announced the suspension in a notice dated Monday, May 4, 2026, just hours after its members had downed tools and pulled out of OPD services in a move that sent shockwaves through one of Ghana’s busiest referral hospitals.

At the heart of the dispute is a professional standoff between Laboratory Physicians and Medical Laboratory Scientists over roles and operational control within the Central Laboratory — a tension that had apparently been building beneath the surface before boiling over into full strike action.

KODA said the decision to suspend followed direct engagement with hospital management, who offered assurances intended to allow Laboratory Physicians to return to their posts and restore working cooperation within the unit.

“Peaceful collaboration between both professional groups is essential for quality healthcare delivery,” the Association said, signalling that while the strike is on hold, the underlying issues are far from fully resolved.

Effective Tuesday, May 5, 2026, KODA has directed its members to resume Out-Patient services — a development that will come as welcome news to the scores of patients and their families who had their appointments and treatment disrupted by the industrial action.

The Association, however, made clear it is keeping a close eye on how management follows through on its commitments, reaffirming its dedication to patient safety and professional standards at the teaching hospital.

Doctors at the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital have grounded all Out-Patient Department services following a festering professional standoff between Laboratory Physicians and Medical Laboratory Scientists at the hospital’s Central Laboratory and patients are already feeling the heat.

The Korle Bu Doctors Association, known as KODA, announced the withdrawal of OPD services effective Monday, May 4, 2026, warning in the same breath that in-patient services could be next if authorities fail to act swiftly.

“KODA withdraws all Out-Patient Services (OPD) from Monday, May 4, 2026. Escalation towards suspension of in-patient services will be communicated in due course,” the Association said in a statement issued Sunday evening.

At the heart of the dispute is what KODA describes as the unlawful restriction of access to the Central Laboratory by members of the Ghana Association of Medical Laboratory Scientists  a situation the doctors say has effectively allowed one professional body to determine who practises within the facility. For a hospital of Korle Bu’s standing, that, they argue, is simply unacceptable.

KODA is demanding that all specialised laboratory results be reviewed and validated exclusively by qualified Laboratory Physicians before release. The Association is also insisting on unrestricted access to laboratory systems and equipment for both clinical and academic purposes rights its members say are being systematically denied.

Beyond the laboratory dispute, the doctors have called on hospital management to investigate alleged threats made against their members, pressing for disciplinary and protective measures to safeguard staff and preserve operational order at the country’s premier referral hospital.

On a related front, KODA has taken a firm position against the proposed rollout of 24-hour specialist outpatient services, arguing the initiative is unnecessary given that the Korle-Bu Polyclinic already provides round-the-clock outpatient care.

The Association, while acknowledging the hardship its action will cause patients, was unapologetic about the necessity of the move.

“We regret the inevitable inconvenience to our patients; however, this action is necessary to ensure patient safety and the long-term stability and professional standards of the hospital,” the statement read.

As of Monday morning, hundreds of patients who had trooped to Korle Bu for routine outpatient care were left stranded, with no clear timeline given for when normal services would resume. The ball, for now, is firmly in management’s court.