03 March 2019, Zanzibar: On World Hearing Day 2019, WHO draws attention to the importance of early identification and intervention for hearing loss. Many people live with unidentified hearing loss, often failing to realize that they are missing out on certain sounds and words. Checking one’s hearing would be the first step towards addressing the issue. This year, the day was marked in Zanzibar under the theme "Check Your Hearing”.

There are an estimated 466 million people globally with disabling hearing loss and 34 million of these are children. 60% of hearing loss among children are preventable. If the current trend continues, the number of disabling hearing loss is projected to increase to 900 million by 2050. 1.1 billion young people (aged between 12-35 years) are at risk of hearing loss due to exposure to noises in recreational settings. Unaddressed hearing loss poses an annual global cost of 750 billion US Dollars. Chronic ear infections are the major causes of hearing loss and noise is a major cause of avoidable hearing loss.

The aims of the World hearing Day in addition to increasing awareness and garnering political support are also to promote public health actions for ear and hearing care, stimulate inter-sectoral partnership for ear and hearing care, raise awareness on hearing loss and care at a national and community levels and encourage behavior change towards healthy Ear Health Care (EHC) practices.

The occasion in Zanzibar was graced by the Deputy Minister of Health for Zanzibar who reiterated on the need for checking our hearing and getting medical attention immediately. She called on all stakeholders including various sectors and health partners to enhance collaboration to march towards the attainment of Millennium Development Goals by ensuring non one is left behind. The school for hearing disabled children presented different performances and also displayed the artifacts which were made by them. Finally, the Deputy Minister of Health launched the WHO App which was developed to facilitate hearing checks. WHO App is a mobile and web-based software application for hearing screening. The commemoration was organized by Ministry of Health in collaboration with the Chinese Medical Team, WHO and Zanzibar Outreach program. Present during the occasion were the consul general of the Peoples Republic of China, the WHO Liaison Officer for Zanzibar, Chinese Medical team and Zanzibar Outreach Program (ZOP) which was engaged in providing screening and services for ear care.