"Leave no one behind" is the motto of World Down Syndrome Day, 2019

Since March 21, 2012, World Down Syndrome Day is celebrated around the world. The date was chosen by the United Nations (UN) at its General Assembly of the 19th of December 2011.

The purpose of the celebration is to raise awareness of the "dignity, value and valuable contribution of people with intellectual disabilities as promoters of the well-being and diversity of their communities". Emphasize also the importance of their autonomy and their individual independence; in particular: the freedom to make one's own decisions.

Every year, World Down Syndrome Day is themed. In 2019, the motto is "Do not leave anyone out", with the goal that "all people with Down syndrome have the opportunity to live fully, on a par with others, as in the rest of the population." aspects of society, "stresses the UN on its website.

Access to early intervention programs and inclusive education, such as adequate research, is essential to the growth and development of a person born with this genetic alteration.

Global statistics indicate that of each of about 700 viable conceptions, a person with Down syndrome may be born. Its name comes from the fact that John Langdon Down was the first to describe this genetic alteration in 1866; although he has never discovered the causes that have produced it. In July 1958, the investigator Jerome Lejeune discovered the presence of an extra copy of chromosome 21 (or part of it), instead of the usual two, so it is also called trisomy of the couple 21.