Newborn screening in Bangladesh.

Newborn screening started in Bangladesh in 1999. The programme started as part of a regional project of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to screen for congenital hypothyroidism (CH). In the beginning the IAEA helped the country with equipment, filter papers, reagents, training and expert services. Since 1999, 2 pilot projects to screen newborns for CH were completed. Under these projects some 30,000 newborns were screened and 16 were identified with hypothyroidism. The government of Bangladesh approved a national project in July 2006 to screen newborns in some selected areas of the country for CH. Under the project some 200,000 newborns will be screened and laboratory facilities for newborn screening will be increased. Bangladesh has a large population of about 140 million. With the current birth rate some 2 million new births take place every year. The socio-economic situation of the country is also different. Per capita income of the country is one of the lowest in the world. About 85% of babies are still delivered at home. As such newborn screening is a big challenge for Bangladesh. However, the country is trying to overcome these challenges.