Church Aid commemorates World Hearing Day (WHD) for the second consecutive year in Liberia, partnering with the Ministry of Health, Starkey Hearing Foundation, and various other organizations to raise awareness about hearing health. World Hearing Day was launched by the World Health Organization (WHO) about 10 years ago, in 2015. But the first commemoration of the day was convened by the “Campaign to Promote Hearing Healthcare in Liberia” under the facilitation of Church Aid Inc. (CAI) with material support including hearing aids, batteries and other accessories from Starkey Hearing Institute in Lusaka, Zambia in March 2024.
The event commenced with a vibrant parade through the Brewerville City, outside of Monrovia, bringing together hundreds of students, community members, and advocates for hearing healthcare. Following the parade, the opening ceremony was underway, featuring program objectives, prayers for people living with hearing impairments, students with hearing difficulties, healthcare workers providing services for people with hearing loss and organizations and other stakeholders providing support to people living with hearing difficulties. The program also featured the Director for Non-Communicable Diseases and Injuries (NCDI), Dr. Anthony Tucker from the Ministry of Health as the keynote speaker. Dr. Tucker addressed the significance of hearing healthcare in overall well-being and the importance of accessibility to hearing services for all Liberians.
Director Tucker, who represented the Deputy Minister of Health/Chief Medical Officer (CMO), Dr. Catherine Cooper at the ceremony revealed that, according to the World Health Organization, over 1.5 billion people worldwide suffer from some degree of hearing loss, a number projected to rise to 2.5 billion by 2050, affecting one in every four people. He noted that while some hearing difficulties are treatable, financial barriers prevent many people from accessing necessary healthcare. “Over 80% of those experiencing hearing loss do not receive the care they need,” Dr. Tucker said.
Dr. Tucker also underscored that hearing loss is not only a medical issue but a social and economic one. He pointed out that many individuals with hearing impairments are unable to pursue education or employment, and are often ostracized from society, which hampers their ability to contribute to their families and communities. One of the key issues Dr. Tucker raised was the lack of data on hearing loss in Liberia. He noted that hearing loss is underreported, so there is no reliable database to estimate how many Liberians are affected. “We do not have a full database to say how many people in Liberia are living with hearing loss,” he dirge
Also featured during the ceremony were six of the eight hearing instrument specialists trained by Starkey Hearing Institute in 2023 and 2024. They spoke about the definition and description of ear and hearing care and the causes and prevention of hearing loss, amongst others, including laying out a plan for intervention on the prevention of hearing loss. They included the acting Coordinator for EHC, Mrs. Georgia A. Gray, BSc/Nursing, P. Magdalene Konneh, Hannah Newah, Naomi Smith, M. Vanja Kowula and Blessings F. Acqui. The Ministry of Health also placed Church Aid on the country’s Working Group for Hearing Healthcare.
Bishop Kortu K. Brown made special remarks at the ceremony, CEO and Chairman of Church Aid Inc. (CAI) and Convener of the Campaign to Promote Hearing Healthcare in Liberia. He spoke of the partnership between Church Aid and Starkey Hearing Foundation and recognized the efforts of Kirk Richards, Dr. Alfred Mwamba both of Starkey Hearing Foundation and Mr. Don Martin of the Liberia Special Hearing Scholarship Fund emphasizing the role of Starkey to make hearing healthcare accessible for all through training, education and provision of materials to treat people living with hearing difficulties. He also recognized the Ministry of Health’s collaboration and Church Aid’s staff and volunteers in making hearing healthcare possible in the country. On behalf of Mr. Don Martin, Bishop Brown presented customized pens to the hearing instrument specialists as an appreciation for the contribution to promote hearing healthcare in Liberia.
In addition to the remarks, a representative of UNICEF, Miss Sharon Mary Mwango thanked Church Aid and partners for the efforts towards promoting hearing healthcare in the country and pledged UNICEF’s collaboration in making hearing healthcare a possibility especially with a focus on students in schools. Sharon is a Consultant for Inclusive Education in the Liberia Programme Section of UNICEF.
More than ten high schools participated in the week-long commemoration with hearing screening done for more than one thousand children including placing hearing aids in the ears of people suffering from hearing loss. During the ceremony, Bishop Brown announced a Phase 2 of the commemoration by the campaign, which is the launch of a “School ear-and-hearing-care initiative to reach students in about six counties with hearing screening and awareness messages on how to prevent hearing loss, etc.
