Egypt’s Health Minister Hala Zayed said on Wednesday that 243,697 new-borns were examined since the launch of the presidential initiative to detect and treat hearing loss among new-borns, according to a Wednesday statement.
Khaled Megahed, a spokesperson for the ministry said that 1364 health units were mobilised in all governates to conduct the examinations for new-borns agedonea day to 28 days old.
Megahed added that birth certificates were updated to add hearing loss detection, aiming to establish a database for every that child contains their primary conditions and medical history.
Megahed said that the minister receives citizens inquiries regarding the initiative on the same hotline as the 100 Million Health Initiative to eradicate Hepatitis C in Egypt and detect noncommunicable diseases.
The initiative to detect and treat hearing loss among new-borns was launched in September 2019 and it includes all new-borns in the country.
About 3,500 nurses were trained all over the country on how to conduct the audiometry exam tests. The audiometry testing machines were allocated at the health units across the country, according to Megahed.
