Ida Institute Senior Anthropologist Hans Henrik Philipsen recently attended World Hearing Day events at the WHO headquarters in Geneva. The activities of the day included the official launch of the World Hearing Day logo, designed by the China Research and Rehabilitation Center for Deaf Children in Beijing, China, and sourced through a competition hosted by the Ida Institute last year.
Over 100 participants attended the event, which focused on the prevention of childhood hearing loss and the importance of identifying hearing loss in children as early as possible. This was in keeping with the day’s yearly theme and related materials, “Childhood Hearing Loss: Act Now, Here is How.” Three case studies of different initiatives from around the world were presented to demonstrate what can be done to help children with hearing impairments.
WHO Disability and Rehabilitation Coordinator Prof. Maria Alarcos Cieza also related information about a motion presented by Russian representatives to put hearing loss and the global effect of disabling hearing impairments on the international agenda in the UN. Dr. Cieza encouraged seminar participants to promote the resolution by urging their national health ministries to second the motion. If approved by the WHO Executive Board, the resolution will be placed on the agenda of the forthcoming World Health Assembly in 2017, where it will be the first hearing-related resolution on the UN agenda since 1995.