World Birth Defects Day: 3 March every year

Birth defects are structural or functional anomalies (for example, metabolic disorders) that occur during intrauterine life and can be identified during pregnancy, at birth, or sometimes may only be detected later. Birth defects may be caused by one or more genetic, infectious, nutritional or environmental factors. Birth defects are important causes of newborn and childhood deaths, chronic illness and disability. An estimated 303 000 newborns die every year, worldwide, due to birth defects – out of which an estimated 90 000 deaths occur in South-East Asia. In addition to mortality, birth defects cause long-term disability, which has significant impacts on individuals, families, health-care systems, and societies.

Following the World Health Assembly Resolution on birth defects in 2010 WHO Regional Office of South-East Asia (WHO-SEARO) initiated a holistic initiative on birth defects in collaboration with CDC-USA in 2011-2012. WHO has supported nine countries of the Region to prepare national plans on birth defects prevention and control.

The first-ever World Birth Defects Day was observed in 2015 on 3 March with the support of 12 organizations. Many global and national organizations have joined in support to prepare for #WBDDAY every year.

Since then at the occasion of World Birth Defects Day on 3 March every year, WHO-SEARO reiterates its commitment to supporting Member States in the Region for surveillance, prevention and treatment of Birth Defects and invites stakeholders to observe the day by undertaking multiple activities to disseminate information on burden of common birth defects on the society, their prevention and care of children born with birth defects.