Delhi government launches Mission NEEV for early treatment of babies

Ahead of the Delhi elections Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s government launched Mission NEEV. NEEV stands for Neonatal Early Evaluation Vision programme and will cover around 1.5 lakh newborn babies.

Tackling visible functional and metabolic defects in babies – that’s the goal of Mission NEEV. NEEV stands for Neonatal Early Evaluation Vision and the programme will cover newborn babies.

Early screening prevents irreversible disorders in many kids

Newborn screening is the practice of testing all babies in the first days of life for certain disorders and conditions that can hinder their normal development. The Newborn Screening (NBS) is a health strategy for your newborn that prevents irreversible disorder in right after birth.

With the program being implemented at many government hospitals, newborns who do not have a clinically evident disease like congenital hypothyroidism, critical congenital heart disease, and hearing loss will be picked up early and treatment can be initiated early. – Satyendar Jain, Health Minister, Delhi government

The NEEV programme will start with 31 birthing facilities that face the highest load. This will later be extended to include all delivery points and other birthing facilities.

NEEV will expand to all birthing facilities

Seema Kapoor, Director, NEEV, said the goal of the programme was to pick up disorders early so interventions can start at the right stage. “Taking into account, that these disorders are associated with high mortality and morbidity, this is likely to come down with the implementation of the program. The message that the program aims to give is that being proactive rather than reactive is the right approach.”

The NEEV programme will be supported by the Delhi government and Delhi State Health Mission under the Rashtriya Baal Swasthya Karyakram.

Newborn Screening (NBS) is a set of laboratory tests that identify serious diseases or disorders that significantly impair the health of newborns. These children generally appear normal at birth but have an inherent condition that will lead to disability or death without early detection and intervention. Several complications such as brain damage, retardation, speech skills problems, seizures, hearing loss, stunted growth, muscle weakness, feeding difficulties are some of the irreversible symptoms that can be avoided with prompt treatment.