NEWBORN SCREENING PROGRAM

DESCRIPTION

The Comprehensive Newborn Screening (NBS) Program was integrated as part of the country’s public
health delivery system with the enactment of the Republic Act no. 9288 otherwise known as Newborn
Screening Act of 2004. The Department of Health (DOH) acts as the lead agency in the implementation
of the law and collaborates with other National Government Agencies (NGA) and key stakeholders to
ensure early detection and management of several congenital metabolic disorders, which if left
untreated, may lead to mental retardation and/or death. Early diagnosis and initiation of treatment,
along with appropriate long-term care help ensure normal growth and development of the affected
individual. It has been an integral part of routine newborn care in most developed countries for five
decades, either as a health directive or mandated by law.  It is also a service that has been available in
the Philippines since 1996. Under the DOH, NBS is part of the Child Development and Disability
Prevention Program at the Disease Prevention and Control Bureau.

VISION

The National Comprehensive Newborn Screening System envisions all Filipino children will be born
healthy and well, with an inherent right to life, endowed with human dignity; and Reaching their full
potential with the right opportunities and accessible resources

MISSION

To ensure that all Filipino children will have access to and avail of total quality care for the optimal
growth and development of their full potential.

GOAL

To reduce preventable deaths of all Filipino newborns due to more common and rare congenital
disorders through timely screening and proper management.
PROGRAM OBJECTIVES

By 2030, all Filipino newborns are screened; Strengthen Quality of service and intensify monitoring and
evaluation of NBS implementation; Sustainable financial scheme; Strengthen patient management

PROGRAM COMPONENTS

Operations / Systems and Network; Service Delivery; Strengthen health promotion/Alliance building for
ENBS; Efficient data management; Monitoring and Evaluation; Financing Scheme

TARGET POPULATION

Filipino newborns

AREA OF COVERAGE

Nationwide

PARTNER INSTITUTIONS

The following institutions/units and bodies are the primary partners of DOH-Family Health Office at the
national level to ensure that appropriate policies, standards, logistics and technical assistance are
available to all implementing units:

 National Technical Working Group for Newborn Screening (NTWG- NBS)

 National Institutes of Health (NIH)

 Newborn Screening Reference Center (NSRC)    

 Epidemiology Bureau (EB)

 Health Facilities and Services Regulatory Bureau (HFSRB)

 Health Facility Development Bureau (HFDB)

 National Center for Health Promotion (NCHP)

  NIH - Institute of Human Genetics (NIH-IHG)

 Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG)

 Council for the Welfare of Children (CWC)

 Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth)

POLICIES AND LAWS

 Republic Act No. 9288 or the Newborn Screening Act of 2004

 Administrative Order No. 2018-0025: National Policy and Strategic Framework on Expanded

Newborn Screening for 2017-2030

 Administrative Order No. 2014-0045 or the Guidelines on the Implementation of the Expanded
Newborn Screening Program

STRATEGIES ACTION POINTS AND HIGHLIGHTS

1. Ensuring Efficient Operations, Systems and Networks Management

2. Expanding Package of Services and Delivery Network

3. Enhancing Health Promotion and Advocacy

4. Optimizing Health Information Management Systems for Expanded Newborn Screening

5. Strengthen Monitoring and Evaluation

6.  Establishing Sustainable Financing Scheme

 IMMUNIZATION is the process by which vaccines are introduced into the body. VACCINES are
administered to induce immunity thereby causing the recipient’s immune system to react to the
vaccines that produce antibodies to fight the diseases. Republic Act No. 10152 “Mandatory Infants and
Children Health Immunization Act” of 2011 signed by President Aquino III in July 26, 2010. The
mandatory includes basic immunization for children under 5 including other types of diseases
determined by the DOH.

The vaccines that the National Immunization Program provides are listed below, as per the schedule.
These are available in health centers for Filipino children free of cost.

 Bacille Calmette-Guérin vaccine (BCG); given at birth

 Hepatitis B vaccine (HBV); first dose given at birth

 DTwP-Hib-Hep B vaccine

 Polio vaccine

 Pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV)

 Measles-Mumps-Rubella vaccine (MMR)

 Tetanus-Diptheria vaccine (Td)

 Human Papillomavirus vaccine (HPV)

“Nearly all children can be safely vaccinated,” says the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
(CDC). However, exemptions include those with allergies and high-risk conditions, such as children with
chronic heart, lung and kidney disease.
The optional vaccines include MMR, rotavirus, typhoid, Hib, chickenpox (varicella), hepatitis A,
pneumococcal, meningococcal, influenza viral vaccines, HPV. Here is a quick look at each. From a public
health perspective the priorities given to the optional vaccines are as follows:

Haemophilus type b conjugate (Hib)

Hib is a bacteria responsible for severe pneumonia, meningitis and other invasive diseases almost
exclusively in children aged less than 5 years. In 2000, Hib was estimated to have caused two to three
million cases of serious disease, notably pneumonia and meningitis, and 386,000 deaths in young
children.

Rotavirus

Rotavirus are the leading cause of severe diarrhea among infants and young children. It accounts for 1 in
6 deaths in children under age of 5 in India. This vaccine was introduced in the UIP in a few states in
2016.

Hepatitis B

Hepatitis B is an acute systemic infection with major pathology in the liver, caused by hepatitis B virus
(HBV). More than 2 billion people worldwide have evidence of past or current HBV infection and 350
million are chronic carriers of the virus. Though under UIP, this is still not included as a adult vaccine for
catch up immunization or re-immunisation in high risk adults.

Pneumococcal

Pneumonia caused by Streptococcus pneumoniae is a major cause of illness and death in children. It can
also cause meningitis and otitis media in children. More than 2 million children die from pneumonia
each year, accounting for almost one in 5 under-five deaths worldwide. 19% of global pneumococcal
deaths are seen in India. As much as children, adults with chronic diseases like diabetes, asthma and
renal impairment also need to take this vaccine.

Influenza virus

Flu vaccine is indicated for active immunization for the prevention of disease caused by influenza virus.
This virus is highly contagious and causes grave morbidity and mortality especially in the
immunocompromised states.

Human papilloma virus

HPV causes cervical cancer which is the second most common cancer in women worldwide. India
accounts for the 1/3rd global cervical cancer deaths. Recommended in females from 10–45 years. In the
west, this is recommended in young boys in the age group of 10–16 years as well.
Typhoid

Typhoid fever is the result of systemic infection mainly by S. typhi found only in man. According to the
most recent estimates (published in 2014), approximately 21 million cases and 222,000 typhoid-related
deaths occur annually worldwide.

Meningococcal meningitis

Meningococcal meningitis or cerebrospinal fever is an acute communicable disease caused by N.

meningitidis. During 2005, about 8,367 cases of meningococcal meningitis were reported in India with
about 485 deaths.

Hepatitis A

Hepatitis A is an acute infectious disease caused by hepatitis A virus (HAV). According to WHO about 50
persons per 100,000 are affected annually. Though the mortality is low, the morbidity and disease
spread is very high and lead to outbreaks especially through contaminated water. This is recommended
for children and adults.

Chickenpox

Chickenpox or varicella is an acute, highly infectious disease caused by varicella-zoster (V-Z) virus. it is a
highly contagious disease with a secondary high rate of over 90%. Mortality rates in normal young
children are estimated to be >2/100,000. Mortality risk for adults is 15 times higher.

MMR

MMR vaccine is an immunisation shot against measles, mumps, rubella. It is indicated for active
immunization not only in children 12 months to 12 years age but even in adults who missed the dosage
in childhood. A catch up dose at age 15 is recommended.

Japanese encephalitis

Japanese encephalitis (JE) is a mosquito-borne encephalitis caused by a group B arbovirus (Flavivirus)

and transmitted by culicine mosquitoes. In India repeated outbreaks reported in Assam, AP, Bihar,
Haryana, Kerala, Karnataka and is mandatory in certain districts under the UIP.