the goan I network
PANAJI
Health Minister Vishwajit Rane, who in his previous stint as Health Minister in 2008, had introduced the screening, said the programme would be reintroduced.
“The baby screening programme will be reintroduced with necessary controls and safety measures under financing from Government of India,” Health Minister Vishwajit Rane said.
Goa Medical College had launched a newborn screening (NBS) programme for all infants born in government healthcare facilities in 2008. It was a the first programme of its kind in India where newborns are screened for nearly 50 Inborn Errors of Metabolism (IEMs or metabolic disorders).
The decision marks an about turn by the BJP led government which back on July 30, 2012 had scrapped the screening and termed Rane’s decision to introduce it as superfluous spending even though then health minister Laxmikant Parsekar stopped short of terming the contract worth more than Rs 8-crore, signed with Neogen labs in Bangalore as an act of corruption.
“The government had begun a programme to screen newborns for inborn metabolic disorders. These screenings were being done at NeoGen labs. Through this screenings we have found that one of nine thousand babies born at GMC has an amino acid disorder; one out of 11,500 has a fatty acid disorder and one of thirty-five thousand has an organic acid disorder. All this at the cost of Rs 8.33 crore. No doubt we are the first state in the country to do this but I would rather spend this money on improving our PHCs (primary health centres) and CHCs (Community Health Centres),” Parsekar had said on July 30, 2012.
Parsekar subsequently announced a decision to scrap the new born baby screening for inborn metabolic disorders which was started by the previous dispensation, as it cost too much without much return benefits.
It is yet unclear whether the state government will tweak the screenings for the scheme in its second avatar, with Rane claiming that the final modalities are yet to be worked out.
GMC had launched a newborn screening programme for all infants
Was the first prog of its kind in India where newborns were screened for nearly 50 Inborn Errors of Metabolism
Screenings were being done at NeoGen labs
BJP-led govt scraps prog on July 30, 2012; terms Rane’s decision as superfluous
