ATLANTA — Emory University has launched an international center focusing on the research and prevention of spina bifida.

The new Center for Spina Bifida Research, Prevention and Policy aims to eradicate the neural tube defect globally by 2022. The center is a 10-year, $50 million initiative that will work with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Sophie’s Voice Foundation and other organizations.

The condition is mostly preventable with the proper daily consumption of folic acid by pregnant women.

Experts say that 75 percent of the more than 325,000 babies are born each year with spina bifida could have been prevented with folic acid.

The CDC recommends that women of reproductive age consume 400 micrograms of folic acid daily to prevent spina bifida and other neural tube defects.