Male Infertility: The West's Hidden Pandemic Male infertility is rising at an alarming rate and research in the Western world - chester wade Across the Western world, the number of men unable to have children without medical intervention is growing. Health specialists are raising the alarm and scientists are struggling to find the cause, while politicians are ignoring the issue. BERLIN — For many people, having a child signifies the hope, or perhaps even the certainty, that life will continue even after they are dead. Many men find it difficult to come to terms with discovering that they are infertile, it can make them feel they've lost a part of their future. In Germany, hundreds of thousands of men are affected.