Halassemia and birth defect prevention conference takes place in Guangxi

Li Kang pointed out that Guangxi has attached great importance to birth defects and thalassemia prevention and control work. It has launched a thalassemia prevention and control plan, free premarital medical examinations of maternal and child health, prenatal screening subsidies for pregnant and lying-in woman, and neonatal screening in recent years. The efforts have significantly brought down birth defects and thalassemia rates and improved health for women and children. She said that Guangxi will continue to push ahead thalassemia and birth defects prevention and control strategies, offering the public quality services.
The conference focused on exchanges of achievements and experience in birth defect prevention in China and abroad. Participants had an in-depth study of thalassemia prevention and control strategies and discussed relevant effective methods. The NHFPC's Department of Maternal and Child Health introduced the development of China's birth defects comprehensive prevention and control work and thalassemia prevention projects at the meeting. It also interpreted the thalassemia prevention and control pilot project's technical services standards (trial). Qin Geng, head of the department, proposed specific requirements in deepening thalassemia prevention and control project implementation. Experts from the Thalassemia International Federation, Asian thalassemia cooperative group, Indonesian society for blood and China Medical University (Taiwan) children's hospital introduced the latest research and development of thalassemia prevention and control. Li Guojian, director of the Guangxi Health and Family Planning Commission, introduced Guangxi's experience in thalassemia prevention and control. Health and family planning departments in Guangdong and Chongqing, as well as Guangxi Medical University, introduced relevant work practice and research achievements.
The meeting passed the Nanning Declaration, which aims for thalassemia and birth defects prevention and control. It also called on the international community to pay closer attention to relevant work and put in more resources to raise newborn population quality. Officials at the meeting jointly kicked off a project for full coverage of thalassemia prevention and control in China, which will help deepen China's thalassemia prevention and control.
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