Health Days 2018

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World Down Syndrome Day

Introduction:

In December 2011, the United Nations General Assembly declared 21 March as the World Down Syndrome Day, with effect from 2012, and invited all member states, relevant organizations of the U N and other international organizations, as well as civil society, including non-governmental organizations and the private sector, to observe the World Down Syndrome Day in an appropriate manner, in order to raise public awareness of Down syndrome.

Causes of Down Syndrome:

Human cells contain 23 pairs of chromosomes, a total of 46 chromosomes. One chromosome in each pair comes from the egg (mother), the other from the sperm (father).The X and Y chromosomes contain X chromosome of the egg and Y chromosome of the sperm. In Down syndrome an extra copy of chromosome 21 is added resulting in three copies instead of two. For this reason, March 21st was chosen to celebrate the World Down Syndrome Day.

World Down Syndrome Day Theme:

The 13th anniversary of this global event falls on March 21st, 2018. This year's celebration focuses on the theme "What I Bring to My Community". It is meant to highlight the valuable contributions of people with Down syndrome whether in their schools, businesses, communities and public life and its different political, cultural, sports, media and recreation aspects.

https://worlddownsyndromeday.org/about-wdsd

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