Ministry of Health and Prevention launches ‘Help Me Hear' initiative for children with hearing loss

UAE, 18 January, 2017 -The Ministry of Health and Prevention (MOHAP) has announced the launch of the ‘Help Me Hear’ initiative in a press conference held in conjunction with the Emirates Otorhinolaryngology Audiology and Communication Disorders Congress which was attended by H.E. Dr. Hussein Abdul Rahman AL Rand, Assistant Undersecretary for Health Centers and Clinics and Chairman of the Congress. The campaign was developed to help address the needs of children with hearing loss, under the framework of the Ministry’s initiatives for ‘Year Of Giving 2017.’

H.E. Dr. Al Rand said: “Today, we are honored to announce the launch of the Ministry's ‘Help Me Hear’ initiative designed to help children from the age of 6 months to 4 years with hearing loss. This falls in line with initiatives reinforcing 2017 as the Year Of Giving as announced by H.H. Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, UAE President, and per the directives of H.H. Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, UAE Vice President and Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai.”

Dr. AL Rand confirmed that the Year of Giving embodies humanity and reflects the UAE’s commitment to promote charity and positivity in order to instill and cultivate a culture of volunteerism to all the concerned parties and support the UAE’s development, which can be achieved through stronger cooperation between the public and private sectors.

H.E. Dr. Al Rand emphasized the Ministry’s commitment to ensure the sustainable health of the people of the UAE in accordance with the highest international standards by providing comprehensive and specialized services in a sustainable healthy environment in accordance with policies, legislation and programs and through effective local and international partnerships. In addition, the Ministry aims to achieve the highest standards of health care by 2021, according to the Emirates National Agenda, in culmination of its decades-long march towards excellence in the field of medicine and healthcare.

H.E. Dr. Al Rand further explained the importance of the ‘Help Me Hear’ initiative in light of recent statics from UAE polls indicating that the rate of hearing loss among people is up to 4 per cent. In response to this, the Ministry aims to provide support to deaf children by making treatment available free of charge. This is in line with the vision of the wise leadership in support of 2017’s declaration as the Year of Giving, as it will return the sense of hearing to a large number of children, especially those who are not citizens or who are from low-income families who cannot afford medical expenses, to highlight the country’s efforts to provide free treatments even to non-nationals. 

His Excellency said: "The initiative aims to strengthen the capacity of children to communicate and reintegrate into society, which in turn will contribute to the sustainable development of the country. This will be done through covering the cost of operations and implants, depending on the situation. The campaign will initially be limited to children currently residing in the UAE and will be supported by manufacturers of audio device implants, charities.”

The Ministry will supervise an executive committee headed by H.E. Dr. Hussein Al Rand to facilitate the Commission's operations and communicate with the competent authorities on the initiative’s implementation. Towards the end of the press conference, H.E. emphasized the importance of good work that realizes the leadership’s vision and which represents originality and unlimited values. As such, the initiative will soon be extended beyond the UAE to include poor countries that require similar support so that more people in need can be made happy and benefit from the rich bounties that come as a result of this Year of Giving.