At the opening ceremony for the 2006 publicity campaign for awareness about babies with a congenital defect, Yang Qing, Director of Healthcare for Women and Children and the Community Sanitation Bureau of the Ministry of Health, revealed that China has a high incidence of this problem. The number of babies born each year with a congenital defect is nearly one million in China, corresponding to an economic loss of billion yuan per year.

Yang added that 30 percent of those babies die before or shortly after birth, and 40 percent are permanently disabled. Only 30 percent can be cured. According to statistics, nearly 30 million families across China have had a baby with a congenital defect, which represents almost 10 percent of families. Nearly 30 billion yuan will be invested in treatment and welfare for babies that survive.

By People's Daily Online