“Let every child have a voice to be heard” event kicks off at Damascus University

Damascus, SANA- “Let every child have a voice to be heard” event kicked off on Monday on the occasion of the 1st anniversary of the launch of the National Program for Early Detection and Intervention of Hearing Loss in Newborns, at Damascus University Auditorium.

Health Minister, Dr. Hassan Al-Ghabbash affirmed in a speech that the program, during its first year, has completed 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 survey centers with the necessary personnel, equipment, and infrastructure to provide services according to the approved standards.

Al-Ghabbash noted that the program had brought reassurance to 23,000 families by confirming the soundness of their children’s hearing or through the necessary intervention through hearing aids, including cochlear surgery, and then the necessary rehabilitation for them to be like their peers in society.

The Minister added that an in-depth training program for doctors on cochlear implantation has been provided. It is a specialized scientific program that aims to have more than 10 new doctors in Syria within a year who are capable of performing cochlear implantation operations.

“Our goal is to reach every newborn child through a survey center not far from the family, to check on the sense of hearing or for appropriate intervention and rehabilitation through qualified doctors in the provinces”, the Minister said.

Nisreen Othman