The Campaign to Promote Hearing Healthcare in Liberia through Church Aid Inc – CAI marked the 1st Observance of World Hearing Day as proclaimed by the World Health Organization – WHO with the participation of several schools, teachers and stakeholders from NGOs, hospitals, BrewervilleCity Corporation, and the communities including people who came to seek help for hearing difficulties.
The celebration begins with a parade from the Bible Colleague Community in Brewervill, which bought together students, nurses, members of Church Aid INC and community dwellers amongst others
Delivery his Keynote address, Dr. Tabeh L. Freeman Jr, the only practicing ENT Surgeon in Liberia, has called on Liberians to get involved in promoting ear and hearing care in the country.
According to him it needs the collative efforts of every Liberians including the National Legislature to get fully involve with the promotion of ear and hearing care in the country.
Dr. Tabeh L. Freeman Jr, is calling on the public or individuals who have hearing complications to always seek doctors advise instead of doing things that will further worsen the ear conditions
A representative of the Clinton Health Access Initiative extolled the efforts of the campaign and promised collaboration through the Ministry of Health that will further take the iniative out of the fifteen sub division of the country
For his part, Bishop Kortu K. Brown who leads the Campaign to Promote Hearing Healthcare in Liberia, recalled the efforts to establish the campaign beginning with the training of four (4), hearing instrument Specialists in Lusaka, Zambia with the cooperation of the Ministry of Health and other partners and challenged like Liberians and stakeholders to engage the efforts to promote hearing healthcare in the country.
Bishop Brown revealed that Starkey Hearing Foundation has donated several Hearing Aids and about eighteen thousand (18,000), batteries to power the device, to Church Aid INC
According to him, the hearing Aids will be given to people who have hearing problem based on the advice on the Hearing Nurses to help improve their sense of hearing
four (4), hearing Specialists brought awareness on definition and description of ear and hearing care, the causes and prevention of hearing difficulties, amongst others.
During the celebration, a representative of the City Corporation of Brewerville praised the efforts of Church Aid as remarkable and called on the relevant stakeholders to support the campaign.
Church Aid had a goal of training about Twenty (20), hearing Specialists to be placed at major health facilities across the 15 counties to help address hearing loss.
More than Two Hundred (200), students participated in the program while about eighteen (81) persons were screened and tested for hearing loss. So far, the team has referred more than two hundred (200) persons for hearing aids over the past six (6), weeks since the returned of trained and specialized nurses.
