Dubai: A non-governmental organisation, the Emirates Family Network, was launched yesterday to tackle the growing infertility rate and the alarming high divorce rates in the country.

"We aim to overcome taboos, embarrassment, stigma and social pressures often associated with women's issues," said Aisha Rashid Ali, board member of the Emirates Women's Business Council, who is spearheading the campaign. The NGO will work under the umbrella of the Ministry of Health and Health Abu Dhabi--Abu Dhabi.

The outreach programme will be conducted from Al Gharbia to Fujairah, she said. "We will provide emotional support to families who suffer from depression caused by infertility," she said. Experts have warned that the fertility rate in the country is dropping due to various reasons as polycystic ovary syndrome where the release of eggs is less frequent, and also because women are marrying later in life. According to the Dubai Gynaecology and Fertility Treatment Centre, more than 1,700 couples were treated last year.

The National Human Resources and Employment Authority had earlier announced that the Emirati population is decreasing down to less than 20 per cent of the total six million population. Aisha Ali said the Council will work with the two government health bodies to raise public awareness about infertility factors. "Lack of communication [among couples] is the warning sign of the first step towards serious breakdown [in marriage]," she said.

Decline in births

According to WHO world health statistics, there has been decline in births in the UAE from 5..7 children per women to less than 2 children over the past two decades. According to Abdul Razzaq Faris Al Faris, chief economist at the Dubai Economic Council, the fertility rate among Emiratis has dropped 50 per cent over the past two decades and will decrease even further to between 1.73 per cent to 2 per cent within 10 years. If this carries on, "we might eventually disappear," he was quoted as saying.

Aisha Ali also noted during the launch of the Network that recent divorce rates in the UAE have alarmed policy makers and prompted an increased focus on awareness and the importance of the family group.

The Dubai-based Emirates Family Network is the only one of its kind and will help provide information, support on infertility and parenting and health problems, she said.