A new report shows that a staggering eight million children world-wide are born with a serious genetic birth defect each year.

The March of Dimes health agency conducted the first comprehensive global analysis of the problem.

The study, featured in BBC news reports, says death and disability from genetic birth defects could be cut by up to 70 percent by introducing often simple measures, such as giving pregnancy women folic acid supplements to minimise the risk of spina bifida.

Until now, concludes the report, the scale of this problem has not been known. The new research is based on a data from 193 countries.

The report found the overwhelming majority of babies with birth defects are born to women in poor, or middle-income countries.