Cameroon: Improving the lives of hearing-impaired children

Posted on 25 Nov, 2014 by GFA

About five million inhabitants in Northern Cameroon suffer from a very poor public health system. Hearing-impaired people have no access to audiology services and hearing aids. Being deaf or hearing-impaired can have a devastating effect on children as learning at school becomes incredibly difficult. Despite a private initiative of German doctors in cooperation with the Hospital Protestant’ in Ngaoundere, special hearing diagnostics for newborn and pre-school children is not possible. GFA supports the project by purchasing a screening device for the audiological assessment of difficult-to-test patients such as newborn and small children. This makes the first step of treatment possible, namely the identification of the hearing-impaired children. Children can then be referred to special schools, hearing-aid technicians or, if necessary, to surgery in the project’s department.

The project is undertaken by Dr. Max Lessle.