ESSENCE: Interdisciplinary- International Journal of Concerned African Philosophers

Infertility, which refers to the inability to have children either for a while or when it becomes permanent (sterility), remains a serious problem in Africa, where having children is seriously valued and seen as a cardinal purpose for human existence. It is attended with social stigmatization, psychological trauma, dehumanization of the childless couple, etc. While inability to have children often may not be the fault of the couple, very often society does not want to hear that. It is also painful to note that the woman is often blamed for most cases of infertility. This paper uses a critical hermeneutics, analytic, evaluative, and dialogical methods to argue for seeing the problem of infertility within the framework of an ethics of Okugbe (togetherness) and the African spirit of communalism. It argues that the challenge of infertility should be collectively faced by the community and that the community should stand with those who suffer from the problem instead of stigmatising them. The paper also argues that within the communitarian framework, in which “all children are seen as children of the village” and not just the individual, infertile and childless couples should be encouraged to embrace seeing other children as their children, and even be allowed to see adoption as a viable option to be embraced. Children, whether biological or adopted, are human beings and should be celebrated. The paper concludes that if the communitarian moral framework is adopted, it will help to restore dignity to infertile couples.

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