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It is estimated that 150 000 children born annually in South Africa are affected by a significant birth defect or genetic disorder by the age of five years. The National Department of Health focuses on 10 conditions with the most common conditions being: - albinism
- Downs Syndrome
- Foetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS)
- neural tube defects (spina bifida).
The Western Cape also focuses on these (except for albinism, which has a low incidence), with FAS being the highest priority. The service aims to prevent children from being born with these conditions by providing timely and appropriate genetic counselling to high-risk individuals and/or couples. In order to do so, these individuals first have to be identified. They can be identified via the existing services at the clinics from where they will be referred to the specialised genetic services provided via outreach programmes in rural areas and at tertiary centres in Cape Town. |
