World Down Syndrome Day 21 March, 2024 - Theme, Importance & History

World Down Syndrome Day is a global healthcare event observed every year on the 21st of March to raise awareness about the disease and voice in support of friends and family of the person affected by Down Syndrome for the past 11 years.

Down syndrome is a medical condition in which a person has an extra chromosome. At birth, a newborn will typically have 46 chromosomes. Having an extra copy of chromosome 21 causes Down syndrome in infants.

World Down Syndrome Day 2024 Theme

This year, 2024, World Down Syndrome Day's theme is "End the Stereotypes." The theme is to increase public awareness of the difficulties that individuals with Down syndrome encounter as a result of misconceptions and discrimination. People with intellectual disabilities and Down syndrome may suffer negative consequences from stereotypes.

Year by Year themes of World Down Syndrome:

• World Down Syndrome 2023 Theme: With Us Not for Us
• World Down Syndrome 2022 Theme: Inclusion Means
• World Down Syndrome 2021 Theme: Connect
• World Down Syndrome 2020 Theme: We Decide
• World Down Syndrome 2019 Theme: Leave no one behind
• World Down Syndrome 2018 Theme: What I bring to the Workplace

12th World Down Syndrome Day Conference 

On this day, the United Nations headquarters shall bear witness to the 12th World Down Syndrome Day Conference (WDSDC), organized by the Down Syndrome International network in the City that Never Sleeps - New York.

At this conference, people with Down syndrome and disabilities, supporters and advocates, government and UN officials and NGO representatives will discuss Legal Capacity and Supported Decision-Making.

At this conference on legal capacity, a discussion about the supported decision-making with persons with Down syndrome and other impairments shall commence. At the meeting, they exchange ideas about information, experiences, and strategies that have been successful in easing the lives of persons with Down syndrome living in various nations worldwide and plan to implement the same.

This conference shall be attended by supporters, activists, officials from the United Nations and various governments, as well as representatives from non-governmental organizations.

Importance of World Down Syndrome Day (WDSD)

According to estimates, about 1 in every 1000 to 1 in every 1100 newborns has Down syndrome globally. Every year, 3,000-5,000 infants are born with this chromosomal abnormality. Nearly 1 out of 830 live births in India are of Down syndrome.

People with Down syndrome are not readily accepted by society, especially infants born with Down syndrome. These may confront several complex moral dilemmas, beginning with the prenatal diagnosis of the abnormality and continuing through the newborn period. Several organisations won’t prefer people to hire with Down syndrome to involve in their working team.

To break this stigma of being unacceptable, the theme this year, "With Us Not for Us", focused on raising a voice to all the public and governmental organisations to stand with Down syndrome people in providing: 

• Equally, human rights for being treated similarly to normal persons rather than considering them as not equal to others
• Equal opportunities to get hired and work with others rather than deciding not to hire Down syndrome people as they have an intellectual disability
• Freedom for people with Down syndrome to make their own decisions rather than not having the chance to take their own decisions
  

History of World Down Syndrome Day (WDSD)

In 2006, the first World Down Syndrome Day was observed. The Brazilian Federation of Associations of Down Syndrome then collaborated with Down Syndrome International and its members to start a massive campaign to raise awareness on a global scale. The General Assembly unanimously passed a resolution in favour of annually commemorating World Down Syndrome Day in November 2011. In December, it declared the 21st of March 2012 as World Down Syndrome Day, which has continued there.

Health care of individuals with Down syndrome:

Compared with the past, individuals with Down syndrome enjoy longer lives than ever because of breakthroughs in medical science. A person with Down syndrome's quality of life can be enhanced by meeting their varied healthcare needs, which include:

• Regular check-ups by healthcare professionals can track mental and physical growth; thus, initiating physiotherapy, counselling, or special education is given at the right time.
• Through parental care and assistance, medical direction, and community-based support systems, such as special schools, the community and parents are guided to provide the highest quality of life possible, thus aiding their integration into mainstream society.
  

Department of Paediatrics | PACE Dandle