Under the directives of H.E AbdulRahman bin Mohamed Al-Owais, the Minister of Health and the follow up of H.E Dr. Hussein Abdel Rahman Rand, Assistant Undersecretary for Health Clinics and Centers, the ENT Team of Al Qassimi Hospital of the Ministry of Health and Prevention (MoHAP) has successfully performed free 3 cochlear implant surgeries for two Arab children aged 2 and 4 years and a 35-years-old Arab youth, all of them were suffering from hearing loss of sensory nerves since birth and otitis.
The operations are part of the “Help Me Hear” initiative launched in 2017, One of MoHAP’s initiatives launched during the Year of Giving, the first of its kind across the country to bring happiness to hearing-impaired children from non-citizen through the provision of the surgery and cochlear implant costs free of charge. Some 50 non-citizen deaf persons so far have benefited from the initiative.
Humanitarian initiative
Dr. Hussein Abdel Rahman Rand said the “Help Me Hear” initiative is one of the humanitarian initiatives launched in cooperation with the Ministry's strategic partners to help low- low-income residents and hearing-impaired children whose families cannot afford the treatment costs of hearing loss, especially that the cochlear implant surgery costs around AED 150,000.
Dr. Al Rand underlined that the initiative will continue to provide a free cochlear implant for deaf children, as part of the noble values of the UAE to extend a helping hand to those in need, thus cementing the state’s status as a regional and world capital for humanitarian aid.
“I’m very pleased with the success of the surgeries that can change the life course of patients. Over time, those who underwent the surgery will be able to hear and communicate with their counterparts, and thus integrate effectively into society as a result of the development of technologies,” he added.
Al Rand pointed out that all the surgeries were performed at Al Qasimi Hospital in cooperation with one of the international companies producing cochlear implants, and “Alam and amal” (pain and hope) TV show.
Restoring hope
Dr. Eman Alhouli, Consultant Otolaryngologist and Head of ENT Department at Al Qassimi Hospital, said: “the electronic device was implanted in the patients' inner ear, which will be followed with another procedure to insert a speech processor and operate the device two to three weeks after the operation. Once the surgeries are complete, patients will be able to hear for the first time.”
She added: The expansions of the ENT department and equipping it with state-of-the-art techniques of the cochlear implant have significantly contributed to the success of this kind of delicate operations and to restore hope to people with severe hearing disabilities and deafness, stressing that this would help cement the status of Al Qassimi Hospital as one of the leading hospitals in the UAE and the region in the field of cochlear implants.”