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New Delhi: Ahead of World Birth Defects Day 2024, the World Health Organization on Saturday highlighted the need to raise awareness about birth defects and accelerate action to prevent, detect and manage birth defects that occur throughout life intrauterine of babies.
“We are reminded that every journey matters and that the journey to health begins before birth,” Saima Wazed, WHO regional director for Southeast Asia, said in a statement.
A regional guidance document on screening for three conditions in newborns (hearing impairment, ocular anomalies and neonatal hyperbilirubinemia) will be published this time to facilitate capacity building of member states, Wazed said.
It noted that the contribution of congenital disorders to death is increasing globally among children under 5 years of age.
Between 2000 and 2021, the contribution of birth defects to child mortality increased in our WHO South-East Asia Region from 4 percent to 11 percent, and globally from 4.6 percent to 8 percent, it said.
“Unfortunately, birth defects are now the third most common cause of death among children under 5 years of age in our Region, representing 11 percent of the total. This is equivalent to the death of 300 children under 5 years of age every day” Wazed said. .
Birth defects not only have a profound impact on individuals, but also place a considerable burden on families, friends, the community, and healthcare systems.
The WHO regional director said that while genetics plays an important role in its etiology (study of the causes of a disease), many birth defects can be prevented by addressing environmental factors. These include exposure to pollutants, lifestyles and socioeconomic conditions that affect pregnant women and fetuses.
Since 2014, WHO has supported all our member states to drive rapid and sustained reductions in maternal, neonatal and child mortality, including targeted actions to prevent, detect, manage and care for birth defects, Wazed said.
An integrated approach has been taken to implement interventions for the prevention and treatment of birth defects in existing national programs, he said.
‘Guided by the Regional Strategic Framework, all our Member States have national plans for the prevention and control of congenital defects,’ he added.
Accelerating the prevention, management and care of birth defects is a priority, and we, as a region, have issued a ‘call to action’ in five key areas, Wazed highlighted.
First, countries must put birth defects high on their agenda and expand commitment and leadership at both policy and program levels, along with commensurate financial allocations, he said.
Second, the new regional document and videos on universal newborn screening for three conditions (hearing impairment, ocular anomalies and neonatal hyperbilirubinemia) provide guidance on how simple bedside testing can be integrated within the existing healthcare system. , he added.
Third, attention should be focused on improving the coverage and quality of preventive interventions, such as rubella immunization, food fortification, and quality prenatal and preconception care.
“Fourth, our member states must work together with networks, platforms and community organizations to recognize the challenges, hard work and perseverance of parents, caregivers and families of children with birth defects, and empower them to access services and support, including social protection,” Wazed said.
Finally, member states should sustain and expand birth defects surveillance, focusing on improving the coverage and quality of surveillance with regular data analysis and application.
The results of data analysis should be used to mobilize commitments and resources, as well as improve program implementation, the regional director said.
In line with the 2023 76th World Health Assembly resolution WHA76.9 on food fortification, our member states should plan, implement and monitor large-scale food fortification programs, Wazed said.
“On World Birth Defects Day 2024, WHO reaffirms its commitment to accelerate action to prevent, detect and manage these conditions, in line with the ‘survive, thrive and transform’ agenda of the Global Strategy for Health. Women, Children and Adolescents (2016). ‘“2030)”, he added.
World Birth Defects Day, celebrated each year on March 3, was launched in 2015.
(Published March 2, 2024, 10:30 IST)