Gaza hearing specialists trained under Crown Prince initiative

AMMAN — President of the Arab Academy of Audio Vestibulogy Khalid Abdul Hadi on Thursday commended the initiative of HRH Crown Prince Hussein "Hearing without Borders" for organising workshops to specialists from Gaza Strip.

During a press conference held in Amman, Abdul Hadi said that during the workshops, specialists were trained to sustain hearing devices and monitor them after implanting operations, thanking the Crown Prince for his directives to support the cadres and enable them to perform their tasks applying up-to-date techniques and best practices. 

The academy's president said that more than 2,000 children with hearing disabilities in Gaza need cochlear implants, citing a study his association conducted last year. 

There are 30 children from Gaza who will undergo cochlear implant operations in a specialised hospital funded by Qatar in Gaza, Abdul Hadi said, adding that those children need qualified specialists to supervise their cases after the operations to sustain the implanted devices.

For his part, the Crown Prince’s initiative director, Sakher Al Fayez, said that the programme has seen 568 cochlear implant operations for Jordanian children since 2013 in cooperation with the Royal Medical Services, Prince Hamzah Hospital and King Abdullah I Hospital.

He said that the priority age category is 7-15 months and the second is 5-6 years. 

Launching the initiative in December 2014, Crown Prince Hussein noted some 300 children in Jordan are born with hearing disabilities every year and they need help to be able to hear and speak. He added that the chance for these children to hear and speak normally is great if there is adequate medical intervention before they are six years old.

According to the Crown Prince’s website, the vision behind the project is to “have a Jordan free from hearing disabilities, and the mission is to provide all support and assistance for the rehabilitation of deaf children who receive cochlear implants, to provide the needed language therapy and training for these children and to create community awareness on the cause of deafness”.

The Arab Academy is registered in Jordan as a non-profit organisation under the umbrella of the Arab League, according to its Facebook page.