Almost 5 million children had their hearing checked under an initiative launched by President Abdel Fattah El Sisi, the Ministry of Health and Population announced on Wednesday.
Some 4,997,000 children aged 0-28 days have been checked for the early detection of hearing loss and impairment within an initiative launched in September 2019, the ministry said.
Nearly 3,500 health units nationwide have conducted audiological examinations for children, Ministry of Health spokesman Hossam Abdel Ghaffar said.
Some 277,000 children were referred for re-examination one week after the first check and 32,000 were referred to specialised medical centres after the second test in order to make a more accurate assessment, or start treatment, install a hearing-aid, or refer the child for a cochlear implant operation, the spopkesman said.
The initiative is part of government efforts to improve healthcare by following the latest treatment methods within the 100 Million Healthy Lives initiative, the spokesman added.
Ahmed Mustafa, the Executive Director of the President’s Initiative for Early Detection and Treatment of Hearing Impairment and Loss in Newborns, said early detection of hearing impairment means better chances of successful treatment, while averting communication problems that could cause the child mental problems.
All data of newborns is recorded on a database for the initiative including audiological findings, Mustafa said.
Discussion about this post