Egypt’s Ministry of Health and Population announced on Wednesday that a survey was done to detect and treat new-borns that are hard of hearing nationwide, adding that the survey included 3.4 million new-borns.
This came as part of the One Million Healthy Lives Presidential Initiative.
Hossam Abdel Ghaffar — Official Spokesperson for the Ministry of Health and Population — stated that 198,519 children were referred for re-examination through a confirmatory test in the same unit a week after the first examination.
He added that after the second test, 21,235 children were transferred to 30 hospitals and referral centres nationwide to assess their health with greater accuracy, start treatment, install a hearing aid, or refer them to a cochlear implant surgery whenever necessary.
Furthermore, he pointed out that the number of audiological examination centres for children starting from the day of birth until the age of 28 days has increased to 3,500 health units across the country.
Abdel Ghaffar also said that 7,120 non-Egyptian children residing in Egypt were examined as part of the initiative as per the president’s directives.
He explained that a child’s failure to pass the second test does not often mean that they are hard of hearing, but it is an indication that the child needs advanced examinations in the referral centres of the initiative, stressing that early detection of facilitates treatment opportunities, in addition to avoiding speech problems that can cause psychological crises for the child.
Ahmed Mostafa — Executive Director of the Initiative for the Early Detection and Treatment of Infantile Deafness — said that birth certificates were recently updated and now include an audio examination box with the aim of creating a complete file for children that includes their health condition.
