Egypt's Ministry of Health and Population announced on Saturday that a survey was done to detect and treat hearing loss and weakness in newborns nationwide. The survey included 3 million and 47,000 newborns. This came as part of the "One Million Health" initiative. Hossam Abdel Ghaffar, the official spokesperson for the Ministry of Health and Population, stated that 178,177 children were referred for re-examination through a confirmatory test, in the same unit a week after the first examination. He added that, after the second test, 18,932 children were transferred to 30 hospitals and referral centers nationwide, in order to assess the situation with greater accuracy, start treatment, install a hearing aid, or transfer the child to undergo a cochlear implant for those whose condition requires it. Abdel Ghaffar pointed out that the number of audiological examination centers for children from the day of birth to the age of 28 days has increased to 3,500 health units in all governorates of the republic. He further added that 7,120 non-Egyptian children residing on the land of Egypt were examined, as part of the initiative, according to the directives of the president. Abdel Ghaffar explained that the child's failure to pass the second test does not often mean that he has a hearing loss, but it is an indication that the child needs advanced examinations in the referral centers of the initiative. He stressed that early detection of hearing impairment or loss avoids hearing impairment and facilitates treatment opportunities, in addition to avoiding speech problems that can cause psychological crises for the child. Ahmed Mostafa, the Executive Director of the President's Initiative for the Early Detection and Treatment of Weakness and Hearing Loss in Newborns, said that the birth certificate was recently updated, and the audio examination box was included in it, where registration is done through the births database and the vaccination file, with the aim of creating a complete file for the child includes his health condition. He added that nursing staff were trained to work on the acoustic emission device in health units, in addition to training individuals from data entry personnel of health units, in all governorates of the Republic, to record newborn data on the initiative's website.
