Birth Defects in India Epidemiology and Public Health Implications

Prof. Anita Kar is the former Director of the School of Health Sciences of Savitribai Phule Pune University (University of Pune), India, and the Founder-Director of the Birth Defects and Childhood Disability Research Centre, Pune. This research NGO is working on identifying contextually appropriate policies and services for congenital disorders and childhood disability in India, as well as advocating for including these conditions in the global maternal and child health dialogue. Dr Kar has a background in human genetics, public health and epidemiology. Her work in the field of birth defects has spanned over two decades and focuses specifically on examining how lack of services affect children, caregivers and families, and asking how birth defects services can be introduced in the resource-constrained health systems of low middle-income countries like India. She was responsible for establishing one of the first University Grants Commission approved Master of Public Health programs in the country.