“Let Every Child Have a Voice”: an event on the first anniversary of the National Program for Early Hearing Loss Detection and Intervention

 “Let Every Child Have a Voice” event was launched at Damascus University marking the first anniversary of the launch of the National Program for Early Hearing Loss Detection and Intervention in Newborns.

In his speech on this occasion, Minister of Health, Dr. Hassan Al-Ghabbash, indicated that the program completed, during its first year, a national protocol with international standards and updated procedures for detection, intervention, rehabilitation, and expansion of the number of hearing screening centers to make the service more available and to provide the screening centers with the cadres, equipment, and infrastructure necessary to provide services in accordance with the approved standards.

Minister Ghabbash stated that an in-depth training program for doctors on cochlear implants has been presented. It is a specialized scientific program that aims to have more than 10 new doctors in Syria within a year who are able to perform cochlear implant surgeries.

Dr. Claudia Touma, a member of the Board of Trustees of the Syrian Organization for People with Disabilities “AAMAL” stated that the organization began working twenty years ago with hearing loss, with an interest in speech rehabilitation. She also added that the organization possesses sufficient experience with regard to hearing detection, hearing  scanning, or intervention through cochlear implant and rehabilitation.

Dr. Manal Al-Hamad, Director of the National Program, gave a presentation on the program in its first year, noting that its most important achievements were the installation of hearing aids and cochlear implants.

Member of the National Committee for Early Detection and Intervention of Hearing Loss, Dean of the Faculty of Health Sciences at Damascus University, Dr. Samer Mohsen, reviewed the committee’s annual report and all action points in the program.