The Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Prof Muhammad Ali Pate, on Friday, in Lagos, launched the one million newborn screening campaign, themed “Every Baby Deserves a Healthy Start in Life: Advancing Early Detection” to be executed by ISN Medical and its partner, Revvity.

Pate stated that the initiative is timely and firmly grounded in evidence and fully aligned with the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare’s health sector reform agenda.

The minister, represented by the Director, Child Health of the ministry, Dr Amina Mohammed, said that the data and outcomes generated through newborn screening will strengthen Nigeria’s evidence base and directly support the implementation of the Health Sector Renewal Investment Initiative (HSRII) by improving child survival indicators, strengthening health information systems, and promoting data-driven decision-making.

“It also complements the Sector-Wide Approach (SWAp) by demonstrating the principles of one plan, one budget, one report, one conversation, and one voice, ensuring that newborn screening becomes an integrated component of national maternal, newborn, and child health programming rather than a stand-alone intervention.

“Furthermore, this initiative strongly supports the Maternal and Neonatal Mortality Reduction Innovation Initiative (MAMII) by enabling early identification and management of congenital conditions that contribute to neonatal morbidity and mortality, thereby improving newborn survival and long-term developmental outcomes.

“These alignments present a unique opportunity for partners to work collaboratively with the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare to institutionalize newborn screening as an essential component of quality newborn care and accelerate progress towards Universal Health Coverage.”

Pate called on development partners, donors, professional associations, academic institutions, and implementing partners to align their technical and financial support with the priorities of the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare.

“By working through the Ministry’s coordination mechanisms through the Child Health Division, we can avoid fragmentation, maximize available resources, and build a sustainable national newborn screening programme that reaches every child, everywhere.

“I also wish to draw attention to the newly released WHO framework on strengthening capacity for newborn screening, diagnosis, and management of birth defects, which provides a practical roadmap for countries to establish and progressively expand newborn screening programmes according to national priorities and available capacity. I urge all partners to work closely with the Child Health Division of the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare to support the adoption, contextualization and phased national rollout of this important WHO guidance. Doing so will ensure that Nigeria’s newborn screening programme is aligned with global best practices while remaining responsive to our local health system realities.”

The minister commended ISN Medical and its partners for supporting the national vision and encouraged continued collaboration to expand equitable access to quality newborn screening services across Nigeria.

The Chief Exxecutive Officer of ISN, Felix Ofungwu, said that the initiative becomes germane for Nigeria because Nigeria still has one of the highest under-five mortality rates in the world. “And a big growing part of that is birth defects and congenital conditions. These are things that, if detected early, can be more easily managed. They can be prevented from turning into complications. We have stories; we have heard stories today of people who had severe brain damage or died as a result of these congenital conditions that can be, in some cases, fairly easily managed and treated. And so that’s really what this is about. There’s no need for the needless deaths and the complications from birth defects if these conditions can be easily detected and managed.

“And so our plan is to ensure that at least a million babies are screened comprehensively between now and 2030. Now, this is standard practice in many parts of the world. In many parts of Europe and North America, they have 100% coverage of newborn screening, and Executiveas many as 30 conditions are screened.

“We don’t know what exactly the data is yet, but some of the research suggests that it’s less than 5 per cent of newborns that are screened, even for one condition.

And so there’s a lot of work to be done to ensure that every child gets a healthy start to life, the healthy start that they deserve in life.”

Ofungwu is, however, optimistic that the one million newborn screening, which looks humongous, is achievable between now and 2030.

In his goodwill message, the Finnish Ambassador to Nigeria, represented by Commercial Counsellor Eero Toivainen, commended ISN and its partners for convening the initiative aimed at screening one million Nigerian newborns by 2030.

“This ambitious goal speaks to a shared commitment we deeply value in Fintand, the belief that every child, regardless of where they are born, deserves an equal opportunity for a healthy start in life.

“Our healthcare system has demonstrated that early diagnosis, supported by strong public health infrastructure, can dramatically improve life outcomes while reducing long-term societal costs.”

He noted that approximately 150,000 babies are born each year in Nigeria with Sickle Cell Disease, and without early intervention, up to 50 to 80 per cent may not survive beyond age five.

“The Embassy of Finland reaffirms its support for initiatives that bring together innovation, partnership, and purpose to improve lives. We look forward to seeing the positive impact of their continued collaboration with ISN here in Nigeria. Let us move forward together with a shared commitment that every baby born in Nigeria, and indeed across the world, is given the healthiest possible start in life.”