Birth defects and other adverse outcomes of pregnancy contribute significantly to the global toll of disease and disability. Building on its extensive experience in perinatal health education, community intervention and advocacy in the United States, the March of Dimes is working to improve the health of mothers and babies worldwide.

Partnerships
The March of Dimes works with international partners to educate health care professionals about best practices in perinatal health and to raise public awareness about cost-effective interventions that can improve birth outcomes. 


Strategies

• Enhancing professional education and research. The March of Dimes works with partners in other countries to improve education of health care providers in the fields of perinatal health, including medical genetics.
• Expanding capacity for community action. The March of Dimes encourages the development of parent, community and other local groups in support of babies and children with birth defects.
• Increasing public awareness. The March of Dimes is expanding awareness of the human and economic costs of birth defects by providing policymakers, donor organizations and the media with data they can use to develop cost-effective solutions.

Activities

• Latin America The March of Dimes is partnering to develop prenatal education programs, support folic acid fortification and expand birth defects surveillance.
• Asia The March of Dimes, in collaboration with the World Health Organization, is supporting rubella vaccination in Kyrgyzstan and promoting public health genetics to improve the health of women and children in China. March of Dimes recently launched a partnership with the JN Medical College, Belgaum, India, to improve perinatal education of health care providers at the primary care level.
• Central and Eastern Europe The March of Dimes is partnering with the American International Health Alliance (AIHA) to promote the education of health care providers in perinatal health in Ukraine and Russia.
• Africa The March of Dimes has launched a mission alliance with the South Africa Inherited Disorders Association (SAIDA) to develop a medical genetics education program for registered nurses, key providers of primary health care in rural areas.

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