Newborn screening (NBS) is a cost-effective public health strategy for the early detection of congenital disorders that cause neonatal/infant morbidity and mortality. It is standard care in many high-income and emerging economies. Nigeria, despite its high birth number, has no newborn screening (NBS) programme for any disorder, causing missed opportunities for early therapy. This manuscript is a workshop report and expert consensus of a three-day national workshop organised by the Newborn Screening Consortium–Nigeria (NSC-N) in conjunction with The Federal Ministry of Health Nigeria, Revvity, and international partners. The first meeting comprised experts in different fields of newborn screening and newborn care who reviewed priority congenital disorders, implementation barriers, and national NBS needs in Nigeria. Experts presented pilot data, opinions, and global best practice evidence. Contributions were examined and debated and conclusions were reached by guided discussions and consensus agreement for a pragmatic nationwide NBS plan. The key outcomes were the urgency for Nigeria to begin an integrated, comprehensive NBS programme. Based on standard prioritisation criteria, sickle cell disease and congenital hypothyroidism were selected. Key implementation strategies included integration into routine maternal and child health services, establishing a national screening database, and developing a robust legislative and policy framework. The NBS workshop developed a framework to commence and incorporate integrated NBS into the Nigerian healthcare system. Two conditions were selected to kickstart the programme and establish a foundation for future expansion. This would improve neonatal health outcomes and reduce the long-term burden of congenital disorders.

Sternal cleft is a rare congenital abnormality with an incidence of 2:100,000 live births. It could occur in isolation or along with defects of the abdominal wall, diaphragm, pericardium, and heart. Surgical correction in the neonatal period is required to protect the underlying structures as the risk of cardiac compression at this period is still minimal. We report a case of an 8-day-old term male neonate with congenital superior sternal cleft associated with a ventricular septal defect. He was evaluated and referred to a facility where he could access surgical reconstruction.

Wolff–Parkinson–White (WPW) syndrome is a congenital abnormality of the cardiac conducting system. In the general population, its prevalence is 0.15%–0.3%, with supraventricular tachycardia (SVT) being the most common rhythm disorder associated with it. SVT is the most common cardiac arrhythmia in children that requires therapy. It occurs because an accessory conduction pathway allows atrioventricular impulses to reenter the normal conduction pathway, thus completing a circuit that stimulates the atrium and ventricle at a rapid rate. Symptoms are nonspecific but could be life-threatening in infants, necessitating prompt intervention and prophylaxis. Cardioversion by pharmacologic or synchronized direct current (DC) is indicated in life-threatening or refractory arrhythmias. We report a 16-month-old Nigerian girl who had WPW syndrome and developed SVT that required synchronized DC cardioversion.

Background: The annual newborn population with structural haemoglobin disorders is estimated at five million globally. Nigeria accounts for over 30% of this and has a high under-five mortality rate from undiagnosed haemoglobinopathies. Newborn screening and comprehensive care significantly improve outcomes, but this is not routine in Nigeria where Hb electrophoresis is used for diagnosis. Objectives: This study determined haemoglobin phenotype patterns and frequency in neonates attending immunization clinics in Bida community, and identified factors associated with the occurrence of haemoglobinopathy. Method: It was a descriptive cross-sectional study that recruited 254 neonates by multi-staged sampling technique from nine immunization centres. Haemoglobin phentype was determined using High-Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) testing of dried blood spot samples. The Statistical Package for Social Sciences was used to analyse the relationship between abnormal variants and identified factors. Result: The Hb phenotypes found in this study were HbFA- 73.6% (187/254), HbFAS- 23.2% (59/254), HbFAC- 1.6% (4/254), HbFS- 1.2% (3/254), and HbFAD-0.4% (1/254). The frequency of an abnormal variant was equal in both genders. The majority (89%) of mothers did not know their Hb phenotype, 25% of these mothers had a newborn with an abnormal phenotype, and 20% were married in consanguineous marriages. Conclusion: Abnormal haemoglobin variants were present in more than one-quarter (26.4%) of the studied population. Most parents were unaware of their haemoglobin phenotype and also had a wrong perception of sickle cell disease. Consanguinity did not significantly affect the occurrence of an abnormal haemoglobin phenotype.