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Padilla et al. Rare Dis Orphan Drugs J 2023;2:27 Rare Disease and
DOI: 10.20517/rdodj.2023.38
Orphan Drugs Journal

Perspective Open Access

Overcoming challenges in sustaining newborn
screening in low-middle-income countries: the

Philippine newborn screening system

2
2
Carmencita D. Padilla 1,2 , Michelle E. Abadingo , Katherine V. Munda , Bradford L. Therrell 3,4
1
Department of Pediatrics, College of Medicine, University of the Philippines Manila, Manila 1000, Philippines.
2
Newborn Screening Reference Center, National Institutes of Health, University of the Philippines Manila, Manila 1000,
Philippines.
3
Department of Pediatrics, University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, San Antonio, TX 78249, USA.
4
National Newborn Screening and Global Resource Center, Austin, TX 78759, USA.
Correspondence to: Prof. Carmencita D. Padilla, Department of Pediatrics, College of Medicine, University of the Philippines
Manila, Taft Avenue, Manila 1000, Philippines. E-mail: cdpadilla@up.edu.ph
How to cite this article: Padilla CD, Abadingo ME, Munda KV, Therrell BL. Overcoming challenges in sustaining newborn
screening in low-middle-income countries: the Philippine newborn screening system. Rare Dis Orphan Drugs J 2023;2:27.
https:/ /dx.doi.org/10.20517/rdodj.2023.38
Received: 1 Oct 2023 First Decision: 1 Nov 2023 Revised: 13 Nov 2023 Accepted: 29 Nov 2023 Published: 11 Dec 2023

Academic Editor: Daniel Scherman Copy Editor: Dan Zhang Production Editor: Dan Zhang

Abstract
Newborn screening (NBS) was introduced in the Philippines in 1996, and the Newborn Screening Act of 2004
mandated its provision to all Filipino newborns. The program initially covered five conditions and has expanded to
the current panel of 29 conditions. This report focuses on the steps taken for successful NBS implementation and
the challenges that must be overcome to make NBS sustainable. While often considered a public health program,
NBS is really a system of interacting parts that must be carefully considered and planned prior to embarking on
their implementation. The basic challenges are the same in both high-income and low-middle-income countries
(LMICs), but they are more difficult to overcome in LMICs. In addition to the technical aspects of screening,
including supplies and maintenance, considerations must include human resources, professional and public
education, and government support. Challenges may occur at any point in implementation and continuation, and it
is important to learn from the experiences of others in order to make the process more efficient. Here, we report on
the experiences in one LMIC, the Philippines, in creating and sustaining a NBS system so that others may gain from
these experiences.

Keywords: Newborn screening, Philippines, public health, bloodspot screening, screening system

© The Author(s) 2023. Open Access This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0
International License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, sharing,
adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, for any purpose, even commercially, as
long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and
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