[afro-nets] New WHO Training Manuals on Hearing Care

[Claudio Schuftan <claudio@hcmc.netnam.vn>]

New WHO Training Manuals Aim to Improve Hearing Care in Develop-
ing Countries
----------------------------------------------------------------
from Vern Weitzel <vern.weitzel@undp.org

Geneva - The World Health Organization (WHO) has today released
a new set of training manuals aimed at equipping health care
workers in developing countries with simple and cost-effective
methods to reduce deafness and hearing problems through actions
at the primary level of health care.

Despite the fact that half of all deafness and hearing impair-
ment is avoidable, an estimated 278 million people worldwide are
living with moderate to profound hearing loss in both ears. The
impact of these ear conditions on individuals and their fami-
lies, communities and countries have generally been underesti-
mated because they are 'hidden' disabilities that cannot be
seen.

One quarter of hearing impairment begins during childhood, and
80% of all deaf and hearing-impaired people live in low- and
middle-income countries. In developing countries, only 1 in 40
people who need a hearing aid have one and few programmes exist
to prevent or treat ear diseases and hearing impairment.

/The Primary Ear and Hearing Care Training Resource/ addresses
the urgent need for action to prevent and manage ear diseases
and hearing impairment. The set of four manuals provides practi-
cal information and guidance and can be used as part of a train-
ing course or in a self-taught manner. They are designed to be
useful to a wide range of people, from village health workers to
more experienced health care personnel. The manuals can also be
used to help communities understand common causes of deafness
and hearing impairment and ways to prevent and/or treat the con-
ditions. Vaccination against childhood diseases that can cause
hearing impairment, good ear hygiene, appropriate use of medica-
tion, and avoidance of excessive noise are examples of simple
ways of preventing deafness and hearing impairment.

The training resource has been funded by a grant from Christof-
fel-Blindenmission (CBM) and can be accessed online as Adobe PDF
files at:
http://www.who.int/pbd/deafness/activities/hearing_care/en/index.html

It will be available freely to projects and programmes in devel-
oping countries that wish to conduct training in this field.