By Obiabin Onukwugha
The World Health Organisation (WHO), has stated that the failure to adequately address hearing loss in Africa is costing the continent costing US$ 27 billion annually, and impacting on human lives and its economies.
The WHO also stated that about 40 million people live with hearing loss in the African region, but the figure could rise to 54 million by 2030 if urgent measures are not take to address the problem,
This is contained in a Status Report on ear and hearing care in the WHO African Region, launched recently, during the African Summit on Hearing Impairment in Nairobi, Kenya.
The body stated that without urgent interventions, widespread hearing loss, which disproportionately affects poor and vulnerable populations, will continue to escalate, amplifying existing inequalities in health services access across Africa.
It pointed out that for children, the far-reaching consequences of hearing loss include delays in language development, raising the risk of poor educational outcomes and limited future career prospects, while adults with untreated hearing loss often face isolation, loneliness and an increased risk for depression and dementia.
The report, published on the WHO website, identified multiple factors driving the surge in prevalence of hearing loss in the African region.
“Primary among these is an acute shortage of ear and hearing care (EHC) specialists, as well as maldistribution of available workforce to the advantage of urban areas. More than 56% of African countries, for example, have only a single ear, nose and throat (ENT) specialist for every million people. In comparison, the European region has about 50 for every million people.
“More than three-quarters of African countries, meanwhile, have fewer than one audiologist and one speech and language therapist for every one million people. In addition, although 33 million Africans could benefit from a hearing aid, only about 10% have access due to lack of EHC financing, and consequent high costs,” the report revealed.
The WHO further reported that data from 43 African countries show that while 36 countries provide EHC services at the tertiary level, similar services are not offered at primary care level.
“This is despite the fact that the common causes of hearing loss are mostly preventable through simple public health interventions, or measures to mitigate the risk factors.
Among children living in low-and middle-income countries, the report said, up to 75% of hearing loss is due to preventable causes such as infections and common ear diseases as well as birth complications. “Yet, the analysis found that most countries do not routinely conduct hearing screening of newborns,” it stated.
Even in countries with EHC programmes, WHO noted that EHC interventions are not integrated into such priority health programmes as school health programme, and occupational health or healthy ageing programme.
This challenge, the authors said, was compounded by the lack of national policies and plans for strengthening delivery of EHC, and low implementation levels even where these plans exist. In addition, 35% of countries do not have a budget allocated to EHC activities, with patients having to bear the entire cost of any related treatment and care.
Among other things, the report recommended that African countries leverage the report to galvanize action at the highest level, including advocating for policies focused on EHC and related activities. EHC should also be urgently integrated into existing programmes to optimize use of scarce resources. public-private partnerships should be explored by governments towards strengthening EHC services.
The report also highlighted the need for dedicated financing for EHC, to equip facilities and deliver products and technologies, and to optimize EHC research and development and health workforce capacity strengthening.
Failure to address hearing loss in Africa is impacting both people’s lives and economies in Africa, costing $27.1 billion annually, revealed a new report by the World Health Organization (WHO).
Status report on ear and hearing care in the WHO African Region was launched on October 7, 2024 during the Africa Summit on Hearing Impairment in Nairobi, Kenya. Unless urgent action is taken, hearing loss in Africa could affect 54 million people by 2030 and reach 97 million by 2050, it warned. Currently, 40 million Africans are living with hearing loss.
Hearing loss can occur at any stage of life and the report noted severe consequences for individuals if left untreated. Children with hearing impairments often face developmental delays, particularly in language skills, which can affect school performance and, later in life, reduce career opportunities. Adults with hearing loss are more prone to social isolation, depression and dementia.
The report outlined the key factors driving the rise in hearing loss across the 47 countries in WHO’s African Region. One of the main challenges is the critical shortage of ear and hearing care (EHC) specialists, with the available workforce concentrated in urban areas.
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Africa has the lowest availability of healthcare professionals compared to other regions, which is reflected in ear, nose and throat (ENT) specialists, audiologists and speech and language therapists. In 56 per cent of African countries, there is only one ENT surgeon per million people, while in Europe, up to 67 per cent of countries have more than 50 ENT surgeons per million people.
Although interventions exist to prevent, detect and manage hearing loss and related ear diseases, access remains limited for most people in the region.
What did the WHO survey find?
The WHO used the ear and hearing care situation analysis tool as the foundation for an online survey, to better understand the healthcare challenges and opportunities in the region. Responses from 43 countries revealed that most do not routinely conduct newborn hearing screening, preventing the collection of comprehensive data on congenital or early-onset childhood hearing loss.
However, estimates from 13 countries show an average incidence of 5.27 cases per 1,000 live births.
Of the 43 countries surveyed, only 11 had a national or subnational strategy for ear and hearing care. Only seven countries in the region had a school hearing screening programme and just two offered government-led hearing assessments for older people. These programmes, as well as the provision of hearing devices, were largely concentrated in Eastern Africa.
The shortage of EHC professionals remains a critical issue, with only 11,836 personnel across the region, 19 per cent of whom are ENT surgeons. Despite an estimated 33 million Africans requiring hearing aids, just 10 per cent have access to them, largely due to high costs and limited funding for EHC services.
The report highlighted that 65 per cent of countries in the WHO African Region lack a dedicated budget for EHC activities. While approximately half of the countries in Eastern and Southern Africa have a budget allocation for EHC, more than 75 per cent of countries in Central and Western Africa do not.
The WHO report underscored the urgent need for dedicated financing to improve ear and hearing care across Africa. This includes equipping healthcare facilities, ensuring the availability of essential products and technologies, supporting research and development and strengthening the EHC workforce.
Without significant investment, the cost of inaction will continue to grow, with severe implications for both individuals and national economies.
