Toxicologist raises the alarm over decline in men’s fertility

Adekunle Jimoh, Ilorin

A professor in the department of Veterinary Pharmacology and Toxicology, University of Ilorin (UNILORIN), Suleiman Ambali, has attributed declining fertility in men in the world to unsafe use of pesticides.

He raised the alarm that recent researches have shown a decline in men’s sperm count by 50 per cent since 1940 worldwide.

Prof Ambali said this in Ilorin, the Kwara State capital, while delivering the 192nd inaugural lecture of UNILORIN.

The lecture was entitled: “Preventing pesticides from poisoning away our health and future-the oxidative approach.”

He said that exposure to pesticides is one of the most important occupational risks, especially among farmers globally.

He, therefore, stressed the need for increase in the level of awareness and advocacy on the dangers associated with indiscriminate use and disposition of pesticides.

“Many environmentalists believe that the human species is approaching a fertility crisis based on evidence of disturbing trends in male reproductive health. Scientists studying the impact of man-made chemicals on human health claim human males will be infertile by the middle of the next century if the present industrial trends are maintained.

“The culprits are chemicals, including pesticides, which mimic hormones, particularly, the female sex hormones, oestrogen. Humans are not the only unique target affected by those agents, as many birds and animals in the wild have displayed this problem,” he said.