Egypt’s Ministry of Health and Population announced on Saturday the provision of audiological examination services to 4 million and 647,000 children, as part of the Presidential initiative for early detection and treatment of hearing loss in newborns, since its launch in September 2019.
Hossam Abdel Ghaffar, the official spokesperson for the Ministry of Health and Population, indicated that the number of hearing referral hospitals and centres has increased to 34 instead of 30 centres, in all governorates of the republic, and has been provided with the latest medical equipment and supplies, to provide hearing initiative services.
Abdel Ghaffar pointed out that 260,720 children out of the total children who were examined were transferred for re-examination by conducting a confirmatory test, a week after the first examination, and in the same unit in which they were examined, and 29,799 children were transferred, after the second test to hospitals and referral centres to assess the condition more accurately, start treatment, install an earphone, or refer the child for a cochlear implant operation for those whose condition requires it.
He said that the initiative comes within the framework of the expansion of comprehensive health coverage, and children’s access to quality health care, by following the latest treatment methods, which is reflected in providing a healthy and safe life for newborn children, to reach the goal of the “100 million health” initiatives and in line with the vision of “Egypt 2030”.
Abdel Ghaffar noted the increase in the number of audiological examination centres for children from the day of birth until the age of 28 days, to 3,500 health units in all governorates.
Ahmed Mustafa, the Executive Director of the President’s Initiative for Early Detection and Treatment of Hearing Impairment and Loss in Newborns, emphasised that early detection of hearing impairment avoids hearing impairment and facilitates treatment opportunities, in addition to avoiding communication problems that could cause psychological crises for the child.
He added that nursing staff had been trained to work on the sound emission device in health units, in addition to training data entry personnel affiliated with health units in all governorates, to record data of newborns on the initiative’s website, to create a complete file for the child that includes health condition, Including a field for audiological examination in birth certificates.
