Features
Azoospermia; the ‘sperm-less’ journey to fatherhood
In the rural setting, a man’s manhood is figuratively likened to a hunting gun.
Like a hunter, it is believed that a man’s greatest asset in the bedroom is the gun with which he is expected to shoot a game; in this case, satisfy a woman sexually and most importantly get her pregnant.
Therefore, when a man is unable to do either of these especially the latter, it is said that “Abanagye ne tuo” an Akan expression which literary translates as “the state has confiscated his gun.” At this point, the man is deemed inept in the bedroom.
Peddlers of sex enhancement drugs have gained notoriety for using this expression in their commercials which are blared on moving vans in town and until recently, on radio and TV.
In the quest of some men to reclaim their supposed figurative guns from the state, and avoid the stigma that comes with their condition, they have gone out of their way.
Kofi Darko (not real name) is one of such men. He is a 35 year old driver. In his case his wife, a teacher, whom I would refer to as Ama can vouch for his stellar sexual performance since they married four years ago.
However, instead of her womb being filled with a growing foetus, her heart has rather been filled with hope that her husband would be healed from a medical condition called Azoospermia.
The condition
According to Stanford Health Care, one of the leading health facilities in the United States, which specialises in Azoospermia treatment, the condition is the absence of measurable sperm in a man’s semen.
In its profile of infertility conditions online, it states that the lack of sperm in the semen could be due to blockage of the male genital system although there is completely normal sperm production. This is called obstructive Azoospermia.
The condition is termed non-obstructive Azoospermia when it is as the result of poor sperm production.
Per the hospital’s website, Azoospermia is one of the major causes of male infertility and is found in five to 10 per cent of men evaluated for infertility. The condition may be present at birth or may develop later in life.
The discovery
Kofi and Ama learnt of the condition when they both visited a health facility after four months of not getting pregnant. The visit to the hospital became necessary after she did not get the desired results from herbal medicine.
“I was very shocked when I found out about my husband’s condition. I was shattered when I googled and I realised there was no cure”, she said while trying hard to fight back her tears.
It was a bitter memory to flash back. But that was just one scene of their predicaments for their search for a solution led them into more problems.
Spiritual solution to biological problem
Due to lack of financial strength to pursue the various options for child birth, they resorted to spiritual solution to a biological problem by visiting different pastors.
Kofi was made to consume all sort of concoctions, adhere to all manner of spiritual directions and part with varying sums of money. One pastor even wanted to impregnate his wife on his behalf.
“I get infuriated when I hear about pastors who claim they can help couples to deliver. One took my money for oil and later told me the oil bottle fell and broke so I have to pay again. Another wanted to sleep with my wife”, he said.
The stigma and teasing
According to Kofi, he had gone through all these trouble because he could no longer bear the stigmatisation and the teasing from close associates.
“I try to avoid the company of my colleague drivers because they tease and ask me if my manhood works. They feel that they are only playing with me but sometimes I feel so hurt and close and go home.
“It has been a painful experience and try as I have to brush it off, I find myself thinking about it over and over again. If I had just one child, I know all these will end”, he lamented.
According to Ama, the stigma is affecting their sexual life since Kofi is of the view that once he cannot make her pregnant, there is no point in having sex.
“He does not seem to enjoy the experience any longer and he does it just to please me. It is not the same as a few months ago. ”, she said.
Treatment
Back to the Stanford website, treatment for Azoospermia depends on the type. For obstructive Azoospermia, surgery could often fix blocked tubes in a man’s reproductive tract or make connections that never developed because of congenital defects.
For non-obstructive Azoospermia, advanced treatments could help men with that condition to experience the return of sperm to their semen and aid unassisted conception.
All not lost
But if both ways do not work, Dr Maryann Zuolo, a medical doctor at Korle Bu Teaching Hospital, says, there are several ways they could have children.
“There are options like invitro fertilisation (IVF) which helps with fertilisation, embryo development, and implantation, so you can get pregnant. There is surrogacy too. A couple having problems should not think all is lost”, she said.
The cost of IVF ranges between GH¢15,000 –GH¢ 40,000. Sadly,Kofi cannot afford it.The only currency he can afford now is the hope that his sperm-less journey to fatherhood will end.
As Member of Parliament for North Tongu, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa recently advocated, parliament should consider a legislation which would make Assisted Reproductive Technologies affordable and convenient for Ghanaians.
While we wait for that time, we have a duty to support and not stigmatise childless couples.
Fatherhood/samba/Ayoo/21/06/2020
Azoospermia; the ‘sperm-less’ journey to fatherhood
BY JONATHAN DONKOR
In the rural setting, a man’s manhood is figuratively likened to a hunting gun.
Like a hunter, it is believed that a man’s greatest asset in the bedroom is the gun with which he is expected to shoot a game; in this case, satisfy a woman sexually and most importantly get her pregnant.
Therefore, when a man is unable to do either of these especially the latter, it is said that “Abanagye ne tuo” an Akan expression which literary translates as “the state has confiscated his gun.” At this point, the man is deemed inept in the bedroom.
Peddlers of sex enhancement drugs have gained notoriety for using this expression in their commercials which are blared on moving vans in town and until recently, on radio and TV.
In the quest of some men to reclaim their supposed figurative guns from the state, and avoid the stigma that comes with their condition, they have gone out of their way.
Kofi Darko (not real name) is one of such men. He is a 35 year old driver. In his case his wife, a teacher, whom I would refer to as Ama can vouch for his stellar sexual performance since they married four years ago.
However, instead of her womb being filled with a growing foetus, her heart has rather been filled with hope that her husband would be healed from a medical condition called Azoospermia.
The condition
According to Stanford Health Care, one of the leading health facilities in the United States, which specialises in Azoospermia treatment, the condition is the absence of measurable sperm in a man’s semen.
In its profile of infertility conditions online, it states that the lack of sperm in the semen could be due to blockage of the male genital system although there is completely normal sperm production. This is called obstructive Azoospermia.
The condition is termed non-obstructive Azoospermia when it is as the result of poor sperm production.
Per the hospital’s website, Azoospermia is one of the major causes of male infertility and is found in five to 10 per cent of men evaluated for infertility. The condition may be present at birth or may develop later in life.
The discovery
Kofi and Ama learnt of the condition when they both visited a health facility after four months of not getting pregnant. The visit to the hospital became necessary after she did not get the desired results from herbal medicine.
“I was very shocked when I found out about my husband’s condition. I was shattered when I googled and I realised there was no cure”, she said while trying hard to fight back her tears.
It was a bitter memory to flash back. But that was just one scene of their predicaments for their search for a solution led them into more problems.
Spiritual solution to biological problem
Due to lack of financial strength to pursue the various options for child birth, they resorted to spiritual solution to a biological problem by visiting different pastors.
Kofi was made to consume all sort of concoctions, adhere to all manner of spiritual directions and part with varying sums of money. One pastor even wanted to impregnate his wife on his behalf.
“I get infuriated when I hear about pastors who claim they can help couples to deliver. One took my money for oil and later told me the oil bottle fell and broke so I have to pay again. Another wanted to sleep with my wife”, he said.
The stigma and teasing
According to Kofi, he had gone through all these trouble because he could no longer bear the stigmatisation and the teasing from close associates.
“I try to avoid the company of my colleague drivers because they tease and ask me if my manhood works. They feel that they are only playing with me but sometimes I feel so hurt and close and go home.
“It has been a painful experience and try as I have to brush it off, I find myself thinking about it over and over again. If I had just one child, I know all these will end”, he lamented.
According to Ama, the stigma is affecting their sexual life since Kofi is of the view that once he cannot make her pregnant, there is no point in having sex.
“He does not seem to enjoy the experience any longer and he does it just to please me. It is not the same as a few months ago. ”, she said.
Treatment
Back to the Stanford website, treatment for Azoospermia depends on the type. For obstructive Azoospermia, surgery could often fix blocked tubes in a man’s reproductive tract or make connections that never developed because of congenital defects.
For non-obstructive Azoospermia, advanced treatments could help men with that condition to experience the return of sperm to their semen and aid unassisted conception.
All not lost
But if both ways do not work, Dr Maryann Zuolo, a medical doctor at Korle Bu Teaching Hospital, says, there are several ways they could have children.
“There are options like invitro fertilisation (IVF) which helps with fertilisation, embryo development, and implantation, so you can get pregnant. There is surrogacy too. A couple having problems should not think all is lost”, she said.
The cost of IVF ranges between GH¢15,000 –GH¢ 40,000. Sadly,Kofi cannot afford it.The only currency he can afford now is the hope that his sperm-less journey to fatherhood will end.
As Member of Parliament for North Tongu, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa recently advocated, parliament should consider a legislation which would make Assisted Reproductive Technologies affordable and convenient for Ghanaians.
While we wait for that time, we have a duty to support and not stigmatise childless couples.
Source: Ghanaian Times
THE typical itinerant salesman in Sikaman is a herbalist. He is normally a slim macho with the capacity to perambulate the expanse of area covering the triangle of Accra-Tema-Ashiaman. In short, he can walk a total of 60 miles a day, marketing a product that cures every disease, including poverty. 
The door-to-door herbal pharmacist advertises his product by word of mouth. He has nothing to do with the Food and Drugs Board (FDB). After all, his concoctions do not feature on FM stations.
Those herbalists who cannot walk to propagate the herbal gospel, liaise with drivers of mass transportation and their mates. They are, therefore, given the chance to sell their products on Benz buses that ply the routes.
Normally, the herbalist starts his sales message with a prayer and Bible study. He asks the passengers to bow down their heads in supplication to God the father, the son, the Holy Spirit.
When a herbalist asks the passengers to close their eyes and bow their heads, Moslems on board naturally feel offended. They feel that the herbalist has no right to assume that every passenger is a Christian. They think such an assumption is an affront to Islam.
So a Moslem on board will raise the hand for a point of order. He’ll remind the herbalist that it would be in his own interest to mind his language.
“Be careful the way you address people in a public place. Not every person here is a Christian,” he’d state assertively.
Of course, the herbalist will promptly ignore him, but would all the same “watch” his tongue. Who knows whether or not the Moslem brother is inspired by Quoranic zeal to defend the tenets of Islam to the hilt?
When he starts saying, “Wallahi!” and “Inshallah!” it could be the beginning of proclaiming Islam as supreme, a point which must be driven home with talibanic precision.
So the herbalist must tread carefully lest he steps on fire.
The herbalist could even add a measure of mirth to it all, by announcing that Christians on board today have very interesting company on the journey, but that should not detract from the business of the day.
The Moslem brother will weigh the words carefully and offer a wry smile.
He must be careful the occasion does not degenerate into the use of semantics and proverbial oration to deride his conviction that public utterances must be mindful of religious sensibilities. He has made his point very clear and expects that it is taken in good faith in the interest of a peaceful journey.
The herbalist will now open the New Testament and preach salvation, stating clearly that salvation can come only through Jesus Christ and NOBODY else.
The Moslem brother will now start twitching his moustache. The visible and almost revolutionary reflexes of his upper lip can be an indication that sentiments have begun superseding reason, and the outcome could well be tragic now shift uneasily in his seat.
The time has come for him to also express his right to the religion of his fore-bears. He’ll put his hand into his pocket and rise to his feet. The time has indeed come!
This article was first published on Saturday, September 9, 2006
When the cause of a particular problem like sickness, disease, sudden illness, a social issue etc. are not known, it stands to reason that resolving it becomes a huge challenge.
Citizens would understand the government when public announcements are made to the effect that government is trying to find a solution to the issue, even though it is taking a while for it to be resolved because citizens are rational beings.
On the other hand, if the solution to a particular issue is known to everybody but the government for whatever reason, is dragging its feet in resolving it, citizens become frustrated and begin to lose trust in their leaders.
One such issue is the heavy traffic along a section of the Kasoa – Odokor road. A short stretch of bad road between the traffic light at the Weija Government Hospital and the entrance to the entrance of the overhead that leads to the N1, is the cause of the problem but nothing is being done about it, day after day, week after week, month after month. Thus is clearly unacceptable.
Another issue that requires urgent attention is the lack of pavements along a lot of streets in parts of the various Municipal Assemblies. Exercise is a prerequisite for long life and healthy living and for those of us who it has become a way of life, this issue of people putting up structures right to the edge of the drains beside the roads, are making life difficult for us.
We are compelled to walk along the roads, putting our lives at serious risk. Pedestrians should never be compelled to compete with vehicles on our streets and roads. Roads and streets are made for vehicles and pavements are made for pedestrians. That is the norm. Any attempt to normalise a situation where pedestrians are mingling with vehicles is insanity.
It is the road regulations that makes it so and therefore district or municipal assemblies are to take responsibility and ensure that spaces for pavements are not encroached upon. Citizens have rights that must be protected by their leaders and making pavements available to pedestrians, is one of them.
When we hear of teachers having sex with students, it appears it is something recent. It is not a new phenomenon. It has been there since Adam. Perhaps this issue is getting much attention due to the proliferation of social media. It was an open secret in times past when Teachers were in relationships with female students and some married them immediately after completion of school.
Some teachers were also known to be having unholy interactions with female pupils but due to the times that these acts occurred, human rights issues and the awareness around it, allowed such unscrupulous teachers to get away with their crimes.
Now we are in a different era and so a Headmaster is now in hot waters. He is alleged to have raped about 19 female students and as usual, some officials tried to cover it up and are also in hot waters and their actions or inactions in the matter are under investigation.
Why the man has been allowed to roam freely without being arrested is simply mind boggling. It appears that the law applies differently, depending on who you are. This issue came to public attention sometime in August this year, yet the police had not arrested or invited this man for question regarding the rape allegation.
It has come out that he is a Constituency Secretary of the ruling party and the question in the public domain is that, is it because he is a political figure that is why he is still walking around without questioning? I believe in the rule of law so let us hold our breadth and let the proper thing be done.
The police must however be seen to be active in this matter. God bless.
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