“The pandemic has disrupted our usual protocols and systems, but the poorest and most vulnerable feel the inequalities more so than others. These are mothers who have no access to quality healthcare; babies who are born in less desirable environments,” said Vice-President Maria Leonor Robredo in her keynote address during the opening of the first ever virtual national annual Newborn Screening Convention on October 14, 2020 attended by over 6,000 participants.
 
Robredo cited data from UNICEF stating that an estimated 116 million babies will be born under the shadow of the pandemic but this should not stop the new families from getting support and access to primary care.

She challenged the participants to keep protocols and systems in place to protect not only mothers and their babies but also frontliners who are their primary caregivers; to continue expanding services that can cover indigent families; and to ensure that patients and their families are properly informed and supported when their test comes back positive. She believes that the tasks are daunting and encouraged everyone to continue to find ways to extend service and build together a better future for the next generation.
 

Vina Mendoza | Published in Healthscape Special COVID-19 Issue No. 17