In Nigeria, a single IVF cycle can cost more than the average annual salary, making infertility both a medical and economic crisis. For millions of women, access to fertility treatment is impossible without external support. This is the gap the Olaronke Thaddeus Foundation has spent the last three years trying to close.
The foundation, led by fertility advocate Olaronke Ugwueke-Thaddeus, who is also the founder of Meet Surrogate Mothers, one of Nigeria’s leading assisted reproductive technology agencies, has sponsored IVF treatments for about fifty women and couples across Nigeria between 2024 and 2025. It has also extended support to Nigerians in the UK facing financial barriers to treatment.
This year, the foundation announced another outreach programme providing free IUI treatment for twenty additional Nigerian women. The intervention comes at a critical time. IVF treatment in Nigeria now costs between ₦1.7 million and ₦5 million per cycle, placing it beyond the reach of most families. Meanwhile, infertility continues to carry severe social consequences for women, including stigma, economic hardship, marital instability, and emotional trauma.
While the foundation’s work has transformed lives, it also exposes a deeper failure of public policy. Nigeria’s healthcare system does not provide meaningful fertility coverage, despite the country being a signatory to international reproductive rights frameworks such as CEDAW. Unlike countries such as Israel, France, and Belgium, where fertility treatment is publicly subsidised, Nigerian couples largely depend on expensive private clinics or charitable interventions.
Beyond funding treatments, the Olaronke Thaddeus Foundation has helped shift public conversations around infertility through advocacy, awareness campaigns, and support for women who previously suffered in silence. Its work demonstrates that fertility access is not simply a private issue, but a matter of reproductive justice and healthcare equity.
Yet philanthropy alone cannot solve a crisis affecting millions. The foundation’s growing impact raises an urgent question for Nigerian policymakers: if one private organisation can restore hope to dozens of families every year, what could the state achieve if fertility treatment became part of national healthcare policy?
