Global Health
#BecauseIhearIlive – an international message from Smiling Crocodile
There are 34 million children worldwide afflicted by disabling hearing loss, 60% of whom are suffering from hearing loss due to preventable causes [1]. This article is an account of the Smiling Crocodile Charity, founded in 2009 by Dagmar Herrmannová,...
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander ear health in the 2020s
The world is in the midst of a pandemic, and global health is severely threatened by this novel coronavirus which has caused over three million infections of COVID-19 and claimed more than 228,000 lives to date*. Societies and health systems...
Charitable hearing care in Pakistan: establishing the IMRA Cochlear Implant Programme and Middle Ear Project
IMRA, the International Medical Relief Agency, is a registered charity providing volunteer-delivered cochlear implant and major ear surgery to children and adults in Pakistan. Established in 2001 by UK-based ENT surgeons led by Mr Haroon Khan, its primary aim is...
Cambodian Children Surgical Centre: a junior’s perspective
The Children’s Surgical Centre (CSC) is a Non-Governmental-Organisation (NGO) hospital situated in Phnom Penh, the capital of Cambodia. CSC was developed for landmine victims over 20 years ago by Dr Jim Gollogly after the dark period under the Pol Pot...
In conversation with Robin Youngs
Members of ENT UK (The British Association of Otolaryngologists and Head and Neck Surgeons) have a long tradition of humanitarian work in countries in Africa and Asia (see article with Professor Davis Howard in previous issue for example). The ENT...
Prof ED Kitcher
Much has been said of the paucity of ENT Services in Africa [1]. Whilst Ghana has always been at the forefront of healthcare in Sub Saharan Africa, its ENT and allied services were somewhat suboptimal in the 1980s. This article,...
Breaking barriers in Uganda: the story of Elaine Mukaaya
More than 9% of sub-Saharan Africa’s one billion people live with disabling hearing loss, with children having among the highest rates of childhood hearing loss in the world [1]. Sadly, in concordance with the inverse care law – proposed by...
Spotlight on Africa: paediatric ENT focus
Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) carries 24% of the global disease burden but employs only 3% of the world’s health workers [1]. Unique workforce considerations exist in SSA including a paucity of skilled health professionals and fluctuant political climates [1,2]. Shazia Peer...
The delivery of ENT services in Mongolia: what are its obstacles?
Globally, the burden of ENT disease is great. Disabling hearing loss (DHL) for example, is reported to affect half a billion people worldwide. The majority of afflicted individuals live in lower and middle-income countries (LMIC) [1]. This article, a collaboration...
Preventing avoidable deafness and death from ear disease in Ethiopia
In the July/August edition of the magazine, we featured an article on humanitarian work in Ethiopia, focusing on head and neck surgery. Continuing this theme, Misha Verkerk tells us about an international collaboration providing otology care and training in that...
ENT in Ethiopia: Aksum-Barts Partnership
In keeping with many other countries in sub-Saharan Africa, Ethiopia has a chronic lack of hospitals and doctors. Nadia Ashraf and Tim Crocker-Buqué tell us about a project which aims to improve training in ENT, in a hospital that has...
A one-stop state of the art, non-profit healthcare facility in Pune, India
In 2001, a non-profit healthcare facility was founded in Pune India, providing low and middle income group patients with treatment, not only at a minimum cost, but of a quality which bears the stamp of approval by the Royal College...
