PAHO strengthens birth defect surveillance with interactive regional repository – PAHO/WHO

Washington, DC, June 25, 2025-The Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) has launched the birth defect repository in the Americas, an interactive platform that consolidates real-time data on congenital anomalies reported by national epidemiological surveillance systems in Latin America and the Caribbean. This tool aims to strengthen evidence -based decision making and support the development of policies and strategies to improve maternal and child health.

Every year, approximately 15 million children are born in the region of the Americas, with 10 million of them in Latin America and the Caribbean. More than half of all deaths among children under five occur during the first month of life, mainly due to prematurity, birth defects, sepsis or suffocation. Congenital anomalies are among the main causes of neonatal mortality and infant disability, which affect thousands of families.

These conditions are associated with genetic and hereditary factors, chromosomal abnormalities, environmental exhibitions, nutritional deficiencies, toxic substances or chronic and infectious diseases during pregnancy. «The emergency of the Zika virus in 2016, which can be transmitted from mother to child, and the recent evidence of the vertical transmission of the Oopouche virus has underlined the urgent need for timely and comparable data to prevent and address these anomalies,» said James Fitzgerald, director of the Paho Health Systems and Services Department.

To address this challenge, the repository offers interactive panels that show trends, geographical distribution and demographic patterns of birth defects, supporting the design of prevention strategies and health interventions. Although the platform currently presents preliminary data from some countries, its coverage will expand as more national authorities contribute its records, with the technical support of Paho.

Currently, fourteen countries in the region have national programs for surveillance of birth defects in several stages of development. During the virtual launch seminar of the new tool, four countries, Argentina, Brazil, Costa Rica and Cuba, shared their experiences, as well as key challenges in the implementation of these systems.

Developed jointly by the Departments of Health Systems and Services of Pah and Evidence and Intelligence for health action, this initiative reaffirms the organization’s commitment to more inclusive and effective health systems. By identifying disparities in surveillance, the repository also promotes health equity.

Paho invites countries throughout the region to join this collaboration platform, strengthening epidemiological surveillance and the advance towards a future where each child has the opportunity for a healthy beginning in life.