Authorities hope offer of early detection will encourage more women to have children
PUBLISHED : 24 Aug 2023 at 18:28
Free screening of newborns for 24 rare medical conditions will be offered in an effort to improve the overall health of the nation’s children, amid a continued slump in the birth rate.
The plan was announced on Thursday by the Department of Medical Sciences (DMS) and the National Health Security Office (NHSO).
With a birth rate of just 1.4 babies per woman, there aren’t enough children being born each year to keep Thailand’s median age from increasing, said Dr Supakit Sirilak, the DMS director-general, noting Thailand’s status as an ageing society.
The government hopes the free screening will encourage more women to have children, as it allows parents to detect foetal abnormalities and/or genetic conditions that could affect their children’s well-being early on, especially in remote areas, he added.
About 70 out of every 500,000 children born in Thailand each year are born with a rare, potentially life-threatening condition, according to data from the Birth Defects Association (Thailand).
A lot of these children were born to parents who are too closely related, many of whom live in rural areas, said Dr Pornswan Wasant, the president of the association.
Dr Jadet Thammathataree, the NHSO secretary-general, said the treatment cost for the 24 conditions, as well as patient transfers to hospitals where the right experts practise, will be covered by the NHSO.
Dr Supakit said the government aims to be able to screen all newborns within 24 hours of their birth by the end of 2024.