A campaign against birth defects, including free medical consultation and dietary supplements for pregnant women, was held in southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region this week.
The event on Tuesday and Wednesday was organized by the regional health and family planning commission and the government-backed March of Dimes Birth Defects Foundation of China.
A group of doctors from Beijing's PLA General Hospital provided consultations on complicated cases in Lhasa, the regional capital.
In addition, the doctors visited Doilungdeqen County, giving free consultations to villagers and folic acid supplements, milk powder and probiotics.8 "We hope the activities would help people know more about birth defects and help prevent them," said Guo Yucheng, deputy secretary-general of the foundation.
During the event, the foundation donated 4 million yuan (about 630,000 U.S. dollars) to genetic disease detection for 20,000 newborns in Tibet and will fund some critical cases.
According to a 2012 report, newborns with defects accounted for 5.6 percent of the total births in China. About 35 percent died soon after birth and 40 percent suffered lifelong disability.
