Who is prioritized for prenatal and neonatal congenital disease screening?

Legal Consulting Office of Lao Dong Newspaper answers:

Clause 2, Article 10 of Decree 168/2026/ND-CP detailing a number of articles and measures to organize and guide the implementation of the Population Law (effective from July 1, 2026), stipulates the priority roadmap for screening for some prenatal and newborn congenital diseases as follows:

a) From July 1, 2026 to December 31, 2026: Pregnant women and newborns from poor households, near-poor households, social protection; people in particularly difficult villages; communes in ethnic minority and mountainous, border, and island areas are free to use the service package as prescribed in Article 9 of this Decree and the support level specified in point a, clause 1 of this Article from the state budget;

b) From July 1, 2027: All pregnant women and newborns are entitled to support for the service package specified in Article 9 of this Decree and the level of support specified in point a, clause 1 of this Article from the funding source specified in point b, clause 2, Article 12 of this Decree.

Article 9 of Decree 168/2026/ND-CP Regulating the scope and subjects of screening for some prenatal and newborn congenital diseases as follows:

1. Pregnant women are examined and perform prenatal screening methods for all 04 basic diseases: Down syndrome, Edwards syndrome, Patau syndrome, Thalassemia (congenital thalassemia) (hereinafter referred to as prenatal screening service package).

2. Newborns are examined and performed with neonatal screening methods for all 05 basic diseases: congenital hypothyroidism, G6PD deficiency, congenital adrenal hyperplasia, congenital hearing loss, severe congenital heart abnormalities (hereinafter referred to as the neonatal screening service package).

Thus, from July 1, 2026, these women will be prioritized for prenatal and neonatal congenital disease screening.