Our projects engage in prevention campaigns and social media activities to inform the general public about hearing loss. This aims at reducing stigma and encouraging parents to seek support.

Screening is key to detect reduced hearing capacity. We focus on newborns and children, as early intervention increases the chances of developing advanced hearing and speech capabilities. In 2021/22, a total of 25,910 children and 13,280 newborns were screened by our project partners.

All hearing aids are fitted individually for each child by our local partner organizations. Depending on their needs, most children get fitted with two hearing aids to fully leverage technical capabilities and ensure the best hearing experience. With 2,260 donated hearing aids, 1,250 children were fitted with hearing aids.

All children fitted with our hearing aids are entitled to follow-up treatments. The hearing aids are cleaned and adapted to the individual hearing capacity to ensure the best hearing experience over time.

The key to improved communication is enrolment in speech therapy and regular practice at home. We will further develop this component to ensure each child fitted with a hearing aid has access to speech therapy.

Throughout all treatments, at least one caregiver is continuously informed, supported and instructed by the project staff to accompany the child on its journey to better hearing.

We aim to enable our partners to drive change in their regions and ensure that projects self-sustain in the long term. We facilitate basic and advanced audiology training and enhance the capacity of local hearing care professionals (HCPs). In 2021/22, 1,585 professionals and volunteers attended basic training, while 48 HCPs attended advanced training.