United for Sound: Canadian and Swiss Foundations Tackle Global Hearing Loss

MONTREAL, Dec. 14, 2023 /CNW/ - Globally affecting 1.5 billion people, hearing loss is a critical, often overlooked public health issue. The World Health Organization reveals that 430 million face disabling hearing loss, including 34 million children, with 80% residing in Low & Middle Income Countries, where less than 9% have access to vital hearing aids (WHO, "World Report on Hearing").

Credit: Unique Pictures. A child in Zimbabwe receives an ear cleaning from Wizear, a local NGO. Removing excessive ear wax and foreign bodies is key to ear health and preventing hearing loss. (CNW Group/World Wide Hearing International)

The Swiss Hear the World Foundation and the Canadian World Wide Hearing Foundation, long-standing champions in Low & Middle Income Countries, now unite forces to magnify their impact on a global scale. These foundations have independently addressed challenges, providing aid, training, and equipment to partners, and together aim to maximize their social impact.

Audra Renyi, World Wide Hearing's Executive Director, stresses collaboration's significance: "To scale hearing aid provision in Low & Middle Income Countries, we need to pool resources with other funders who also value quality hearing care. This is why we collaborate with Hear the World, supporting partners in Guatemala, Peru, and Zimbabwe."

Joelle Pianzola, Managing Director of Hear the World Foundation, champions collaborative power: "Collaborative approaches are the way forward to enable growth and long-lasting impact. By joining forces, we can achieve much more. This, coupled with our significant contributions through our best-in-class hearing aids, helps foster more meaningful progress."

In Peru, with less than fifteen audiologists for 34 million people, low-income families struggle to access hearing aids. Thanks to Hear the World and World Wide Hearing support, Oir Para Crecer, an NGO in Peru, has screened 85,000 children for hearing loss and fitted over 2,000 pediatric hearing aids. Audra Renyi notes the beginning of Oir Para Crecer's ambitious plan to double annual hearing aid fitting capacity and fit 10,000 hearing aids in the coming years.

Adrianno, an 8-year old boy with severe hearing loss from a low-income family in Cajamarca, Peru, was fitted with two hearing aids by Oir Para Crecer two years ago. He is now thriving in school and can better communicate with his friends and family. Access to hearing aids did not simply enhance his hearing: it transformed his life.

"What is needed now is more funding partners to join this effort in supporting the scaling of hearing interventions through a true partnership approach", adds Audra Renyi.

SOURCE World Wide Hearing International

For media inquiries: Ingrid Prince, World Wide Hearing: [email protected]; Rina Hernandez-Sae Ma, Hear the World: [email protected]