Newborn Hearing Screening Project

Establishing a hearing screening system for the development of intelligence and social skills in newborn babies

Turkey is one of the leading countries in the world in implementing hearing screening tests for newborn infants. It has therefore accumulated experience in this field that can be shared with countries that face the above challenges.  The Mother-Child Health Program (ACSAP) was launched in 2017 by the Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency (TIKA). The aim of the project is to raise the level of awareness among the public on the importance of conducting hearing screening for newborns while offering the necessary medical training and equipment to health professionals on early detection in recipient countries. Within the scope of the programme, awareness is increased through leaflets distributed in relevant health institutions while training is provided to medical professionals in the recipient country by the experts from Turkey. Grants are also provided for medical equipment that is not readily available in recipient countries. 

ACSAP focuses on SDG Target 3.2 (By 2030, end preventable deaths of newborns and children under five years of age), which envisages the improvement of newborn and maternal health, within the scope of SDG 3 (Ensure healthy life). The Newborn Hearing Screening Project is one of ACSAP’s sub-modules. 

Starting from the regions selected by partner country governments, it is planned to carry out hearing screening tests for each child, especially those born in the hospital, and to raise awareness among the families of children who were not born in the hospital through booklets and brochures. 

Within the scope of the project, training for healthcare workers working in neonatology in the recipient countries, equipment grants, informative activities and awareness-raising methods were applied. It was ensured that all these processes were owned by local personnel and health ministries in the relevant countries. Monitoring studies regarding the training provided and the medical equipment grants were also monitored by TIKA Programme Coordination Offices. The project was implemented with the coordination and financial support of TIKA, and physicians from the Alliance of International Doctors, a Turkey-based non-governmental organization, shared their knowledge and experience with their Kyrgyz and Tajik colleagues, and the health ministries of the recipient countries also assigned their staff to participate in the training. 

Training sessions were organized in three different centres in Osh and Bishkek from 9–14 April 2017 in Kyrgyz Republic; hearing screening training was provided to 160 healthcare professionals. Following these training sessions, two Kyrgyz audiologists were provided with a one-month advanced training and two Kyrgyz doctors were provided with a one-month training on Cochlear implants in Istanbul. Within the scope of the project, TIKA presented four hearing screening devices to the Kyrgyz Republic Ministry of Health by TIKA. With the donated devices, 25,000 babies were tested in Bishkek and 16,000 babies in Osh. As a result of these scans, 200 babies who were found to have hearing loss were subjected to further tests and started treatment. 

A training programme was organized in Dushanbe, the capital of Tajikistan, on 4–5 December 2018, to raise awareness about the importance of hearing screening tests, where 33 doctors from different regions of Tajikistan participated. Later, a nine-person delegation consisting of otolaryngologists and neonatologists selected from four different regions of Tajikistan participated in practical training held in Istanbul on 13–24 May 2019. 

The ministries of health of the recipient countries, which are project partners, owned the projects, which led to their sustainability in the short term, due to TIKA contributions. 

The project can be replicated and applied in any region. It is sufficient for the prospective project stakeholders to request and own the project in order to initiate it.