Global Health
Empowering hearing rehabilitation professionals in Sub-Saharan Africa and Asia
The Hearing Healthcare Alliance empowers professionals across Africa and Asia through comprehensive training programmes, improving local hearing rehabilitation services. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), approximately 430 million people worldwide require rehabilitation for disabling hearing loss [1]. This number...
Helping provide hearing happiness in Malawi
Children with hearing loss in low-income countries face many obstacles. UK-trained audiologist Chikondi Kuthyola shares her story and Malawi’s strides in cochlear implantation. Malawi is one of the poorest countries in the world. In developing countries, deaf children and adolescents...
Prof Tanon of the Côte d’Ivoire and Stephanie Unterrieder of MED-EL: challenges and successes of a public-private partnership
The Côte d’Ivoire (RCI) is a large country on the West African coast. It has recently launched a pioneering neonatal hearing screening programme. Dr Cheka Spencer caught up with Prof Marie-Josée Tanon to discuss this and other recent developments which...
#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,...
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...
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...
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...
What happens to donated hearing aids?
According to the WHO, only 3% of people in developing countries who require hearing aids have one. Over the years many people, organisations and companies have donated old hearing aids to charities. Bhavisha Parmar, an audiologist who volunteered with Sound...
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...
In conversation with Lucy Carter
Sound Seekers is a UK based charity, seeking to help deaf people, particularly children, in the poorest communities in the world. The aim is to work in partnership with local organisations and institutions to ensure we deliver sustainable and cost-effective...
