Student health screenings reveal many require hearing aids – Dr Anthony 

– as some 70,000 students screened to date through Govt’s Comprehensive Child and Youth Health Programme

Minister of Health Dr Frank Anthony has disclosed that almost 70,000 students have benefited from free medical check-ups, many of whom need to be outfitted with hearing aids.

Speaking during an event on Wednesday, Dr Anthony disclosed that through the Comprehensive Child and Youth Health Programme, it has been discovered that many children need hearing aids.
“We started doing screening for children going to school, and we were surprised at how many children needed hearing aids…so, as we test them…and if they need such help, we’re able to then bring them into the facility and be able to outfit them with a hearing aid – and I think that would make a tremendous difference for their education because, think of a child who was sitting in the classroom, not understanding, not hearing what the teacher was saying…that would have prevented them from learning effectively,” he said.
“…so far in the Ministry, we would have screened close to 70,000 children… And our intention is to screen every child that is at school so that we could prevent some of these things, or at least know those children with hearing loss and other developmental issues; and if we pick them up early, we’d be able to address them early,” the Minister added.
Through the programme, children diagnosed with various medical conditions are provided with the necessary assistance from the Health Ministry.
Under the programme, school-aged children are screened for hearing, vision, oral health, and other key areas to help them stay healthy.  The aim of the programme is to ensure the nation’s children are offered preventative care and opportunities for a healthy lifestyle through early detection of any health-related issues.
More importantly, the screening exercises are not one-off; children will have at least three medical check-ups before their time in school comes to an end.