29/10/2007
29.October 2007
RENAPRED Y DHL signed agreement to reduce newborn disabilities
México D.F., a 29 de octubre del 2007 - The National Network for the Prevention of Disabilities (RENAPRED) and DHL Mexico signed a collaboration agreement to reduce the risk of disabilities in newborns by up to 60 percent through the early detection of diseases, enabling clinics, hospitals and parents to take preventive measures.
According to RENAPRED, there are approximately 1.9 million births per year in Mexico of which, according to the World Health Organization estimates, close to 25 percent of babies present the potential to develop a disability. That is, between 450 to 500 thousand cases per year in Mexico. Some of the disabilities in newborns can be reduced up to 60 percent through preventive actions, such as performing neonatal screening and early detection that does not require incurring big costs.
RENAPRED identified an area of opportunity in the process of early detection, through neonatal screening, which requires clinics and hospital located throughout the country to ship the screening practiced on newborns to the Health Ministry’s Central Lab of Neonatal Screening in Mexico City. The need for efficient transportation is where DHL makes its contribution, by managing to reduce the current average transit time of 30-45 days to 7-10 days in 77 percent of the Health Ministry’s hospitals and clinics, through its express services with nationwide coverage.
The Minister of Health, Dr. José Ángel Córdova Villalobos, participated in the signing ceremony as witness of honor; as well as Federico Núñez Perea, President of RENAPRED, and Luis Eraña, Managing Director of DHL Express Mexico.
“The benefits of doing neonatal tissue screening include the reduction of mortality and morbidity in newborns; proper treat of the hypothyroid patient, prevention of mental retardation and, most importantly, enabling children to enjoy an absolutely normal life,” stated Federico Núñez Perea, President of RENAPRED.
The joint collaboration between the Health Ministry, the private sector and the community could result in reducing the cost that society and the government allocate to children’s preventable disabilities. For example, a family that has to treat a child with myelomeningocele is forced to invest up to $1.5 million pesos per year in treatments during the child’s first year; while the social cost of the minimum intake of folic acid, for the annual consumption of a pregnant woman, is a maximum of $60 pesos per year.
RENAPRED currently promotes four basic actions to prevent disabilities: 1) Intake of folic acid in women in reproductive age; 2) Neonatal screening in every newborn (process in which DHL now collaborates); 3) Adequate nutrition in women, before and after pregnancy; and 4) Carrying out an in-depth analysis of the newborn. Some of the diseases that can be detected and treated in a timely fashion are: congenital hypothyroidism and phenylketonuria.
Neonatal screening is a specialized and free test for newborns as they can present serious and irreversible diseases that are not detected in a routine medical check. The screening requires a blood sample taken during the first five days of life in the health center or hospital where the birth took place and then sent to a lab for testing. The lab sends the results back to the hospitals where the tests were done, making time a crucial factor for, in case of difficult cases, promptly informing parents and immediately starting treatment to prevent permanent damage to a child.
In terms of planning and logistics, the shipments consist of samples of the screening, each weighing 0.12 ounces, so within each envelope you can easily package one or more of these documents. The number of screenings issued varies according to the place of origin. DHL is committed to providing express shipping to most clinics and hospitals (out of a total of 298), which would enable the parties to know the results on time, whether "next day" or "in a definite day", by dialing 01 800 SOLO DHL (01 800 7656 345).
"The work that DHL is doing goes hand in hand with its customers and users, it is not about dividing the work but rather leveraging each party’s area of expertise, joining efforts to secure the best results, particularly if we’re talking about the health and wellbeing of Mexican children and families. That is the intent of this agreement signed today with RENAPRED," said Luis Eraña, Managing Director of DHL Express Mexico. He added, "DHL, with over 28 years of experience in Mexico, is facilitating its infrastructure and network to RENAPRED so clinics and hospital can request these collection services, in a simple way and with the time-sensitive service in which it must be achieved."
In order to design and implement the service operation that is offered to RENAPRED, DHL carried out a pilot plan, which is operating in five health centers in Mexico City, providing 100 percent recollection and shipping with "next day" delivery. With this practice the overall operation of the project was defined, as well as the elements that needed to be fine-tuned in order to expand the process across the country.
According to RENAPRED, there are approximately 1.9 million births per year in Mexico of which, according to the World Health Organization estimates, close to 25 percent of babies present the potential to develop a disability. That is, between 450 to 500 thousand cases per year in Mexico. Some of the disabilities in newborns can be reduced up to 60 percent through preventive actions, such as performing neonatal screening and early detection that does not require incurring big costs.
RENAPRED identified an area of opportunity in the process of early detection, through neonatal screening, which requires clinics and hospital located throughout the country to ship the screening practiced on newborns to the Health Ministry’s Central Lab of Neonatal Screening in Mexico City. The need for efficient transportation is where DHL makes its contribution, by managing to reduce the current average transit time of 30-45 days to 7-10 days in 77 percent of the Health Ministry’s hospitals and clinics, through its express services with nationwide coverage.
The Minister of Health, Dr. José Ángel Córdova Villalobos, participated in the signing ceremony as witness of honor; as well as Federico Núñez Perea, President of RENAPRED, and Luis Eraña, Managing Director of DHL Express Mexico.
“The benefits of doing neonatal tissue screening include the reduction of mortality and morbidity in newborns; proper treat of the hypothyroid patient, prevention of mental retardation and, most importantly, enabling children to enjoy an absolutely normal life,” stated Federico Núñez Perea, President of RENAPRED.
The joint collaboration between the Health Ministry, the private sector and the community could result in reducing the cost that society and the government allocate to children’s preventable disabilities. For example, a family that has to treat a child with myelomeningocele is forced to invest up to $1.5 million pesos per year in treatments during the child’s first year; while the social cost of the minimum intake of folic acid, for the annual consumption of a pregnant woman, is a maximum of $60 pesos per year.
RENAPRED currently promotes four basic actions to prevent disabilities: 1) Intake of folic acid in women in reproductive age; 2) Neonatal screening in every newborn (process in which DHL now collaborates); 3) Adequate nutrition in women, before and after pregnancy; and 4) Carrying out an in-depth analysis of the newborn. Some of the diseases that can be detected and treated in a timely fashion are: congenital hypothyroidism and phenylketonuria.
Neonatal screening is a specialized and free test for newborns as they can present serious and irreversible diseases that are not detected in a routine medical check. The screening requires a blood sample taken during the first five days of life in the health center or hospital where the birth took place and then sent to a lab for testing. The lab sends the results back to the hospitals where the tests were done, making time a crucial factor for, in case of difficult cases, promptly informing parents and immediately starting treatment to prevent permanent damage to a child.
In terms of planning and logistics, the shipments consist of samples of the screening, each weighing 0.12 ounces, so within each envelope you can easily package one or more of these documents. The number of screenings issued varies according to the place of origin. DHL is committed to providing express shipping to most clinics and hospitals (out of a total of 298), which would enable the parties to know the results on time, whether "next day" or "in a definite day", by dialing 01 800 SOLO DHL (01 800 7656 345).
"The work that DHL is doing goes hand in hand with its customers and users, it is not about dividing the work but rather leveraging each party’s area of expertise, joining efforts to secure the best results, particularly if we’re talking about the health and wellbeing of Mexican children and families. That is the intent of this agreement signed today with RENAPRED," said Luis Eraña, Managing Director of DHL Express Mexico. He added, "DHL, with over 28 years of experience in Mexico, is facilitating its infrastructure and network to RENAPRED so clinics and hospital can request these collection services, in a simple way and with the time-sensitive service in which it must be achieved."
In order to design and implement the service operation that is offered to RENAPRED, DHL carried out a pilot plan, which is operating in five health centers in Mexico City, providing 100 percent recollection and shipping with "next day" delivery. With this practice the overall operation of the project was defined, as well as the elements that needed to be fine-tuned in order to expand the process across the country.
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