NEW DELHI: The World Health Organisation on Tuesday launched implementation guidance in the Southeast Asia Region for universal screening of newborns for hearing impairment, eye abnormalities, and neonatal jaundice, to help prevent disabilities caused by these conditions if not detected early and managed adequately.
The Region, which includes India, has witnessed a 45% decline in under-five mortality rate between 2010 and 2021, the steepest among all WHO Regions and against the global reduction of 26%.
However, the contribution of birth defects to under-five mortality in the Region has increased from 4% to 11% during the last two decades (2000 to 2021) as countries successfully addressed other major causes of death.
“The regional implementation guidance will facilitate capacity-building for newborn or neonatal screening that aims at pre-symptomatic detection, shortly after birth, of serious treatable conditions. Backed by referral, diagnosis, management, and follow-up for appropriate treatment, these screenings will enable prevention of long-term disability or premature death,” said Saima Wazed, Regional Director, WHO Southeast Asia.
“Focusing on improving care around the time of birth and the first week of life is important to ensure every child survives and thrives to reach their full potential,” she emphasized.
The guidance incorporates simple tests with non-invasive tools that can be integrated within the existing health systems.
These screenings should be done before discharge after a health-facility birth, or at the first postnatal care contact in an outpatient setting after a home birth.
The guidance have been developed through a consultative process with technical experts from Member countries of the Region.
“Our Region is committed to achieving the 2030 Sustainable Development Goal targets for maternal, newborn, and child mortality. I urge all our Member States and stakeholders to adopt, internalize, and use the implementation guidance for introducing and conducting these three screening tests for all newborns before hospital discharge, including appropriate management of babies,” she added.
“We owe the next generation our collective actions to standardize these screening practices, to achieve the SDG targets - and, most importantly, to meet the needs of every newborn, everywhere’, the Regional Director stressed.