World Health Assembly Resolution on Hearing Loss 30th of May

31 May 2017

The Alliance has welcomed the new World Health Organisation's resolution on hearing loss. The relevant statement from the Assembly is reproduced below.

Deafness and hearing loss

Delegates agreed to intensify action to prevent deafness and hearing loss. Some 360 million people across the world live with disabling hearing loss, a total that includes 32 million children and nearly 180 million older adults. Nearly 90% of the people with hearing loss live in low- and middle-income countries, which often lack resources and strategies to address hearing loss. Most cases of hearing loss can be avoided, and can be successfully managed through cost-effective interventions.

The new resolution calls on governments to integrate strategies for ear and hearing care within the framework of their primary health care systems; to establish training programmes for health workers; implement prevention and screening programmes for high-risk populations; and improve access to affordable, cost-effective, high-quality, assistive hearing technologies and products. It emphasizes the importance of ensuring universal access to prevention and care.

The resolution also called on the Secretariat to prepare a world report on hearing and to provide support to countries to help them reduce hearing loss, including that caused by exposure to noise.

http://www.who.int/mediacentre/news/releases/2017/vector-control-ncds-cancer/en/

For the background and the full  resolution see; http://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/10665/250820/1/B139_R1-en.pdf and

Click to access WHO_Resolution.pdf