October 2012 - The Ministry of Health of Iraq, in collaboration with WHO, is currently undertaking preliminary analysis of data from the study on the prevalence of congenital birth defects in children among the Iraqi population. Survey tools and instruments were designed in consultation with renowned internation experts. The survey covered a large geographical area, and consequently, will provide data on a larger sample size for more accurate results on the magnitude of the problem of congenital birth defects in Iraq.
The data collection process has been completed and the results are being analysed by the Ministry of Health and WHO. It is expected that the results will be released at the beginning of 2013.
The study began in May/June 2012 and the data collection process was finalised at the beginning of October 2012. Study design took more than 10 months due to its complexity as the first survey of its kind.
The study was conducted in Baghdad Karkh , Baghdad Rasafa , Diyala, Anbar, Sulaminaiyah, Babel, Basrah, Mosul and Thi-Qar out of a total of 18 governorates. Two districts were selected from each governorate. A total of 10 800 households from 18 districts were selected as a sample size to make it uniformly 600 households per district.
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