The World Health Organisation, (WHO), Regional Director for Africa, Dr. Matshidiso Moeti, has said an estimated 135 million people have ear and hearing problems in the continent.
Moeti made this disclosure on Thursday in commemoration of the World Hearing Day.
She added that the day afforded an opportunity to raise awareness of deafness and hearing loss prevention as well as promote ear care worldwide.
The theme for 2023 World Hearing Day is “Ear and hearing care for all! Let’s make it a reality.”
“It is a favourable day to reiterate the message on preventing and addressing common ear and hearing problems,” the WHO official said.
According to WHO, globally, over 1.5 billion people live with ear problems and hearing loss, as nearly 80% are living in low- and middle-income countries.
“The burden of ear and hearing problems reflects significant inequalities disproportionately impacting marginalised populations and these numbers are rising,” she said.
Dr. Moeti stated that the current rate is likely that by 2050, there could be over 338 million people affected by ear and hearing issues in Africa.
“Moreover, the excessive burden of these conditions is also due to the limited number of ear, nose and throat specialists and audiologists available in the countries. In the African Region, nearly US$ 30 billion are lost due to the collective failure to address hearing loss adequately.
“Over 60% of the common ear diseases and hearing loss can be detected and often managed at the primary level of care,” she stressed.
WHO called on governments to prioritise ear and hearing care health programmes as part of their non-communicable diseases and universal healthcare agenda as well as increase their campaign, political and financial commitment.
“Increasing newborn hearing screening services as well as the effective accessibility of hearing aid technology, are critical starting points,” she said.
Dr. Moeti urged all stakeholders to unite and act on the recommendations in a bid to integrate ear and hearing care services into district health systems and primary health care.
She noted that the ongoing support to Kenya to establish a Center of Excellence for Eye Health Clinic, Eye Health and Oral Health was a welcome step.
“Also, with our support, countries are developing and implementing national strategies for ear health. In 2022, Kenya, Malawi, and Guinea launched and started to implement national ear and hearing care strategies.
“To facilitate such integration, we have launched a “Primary ear and hearing care training manual” that is intended to inform doctors, nurses, and other health workers. We have no doubt this manual will benefit people and help countries move towards the goal of universal health coverage,” she said.
