MOH – Gaza: 97 cochlear implants since the service localization in GAZA
“Joud, Salma, Zain, Nada” are children of flowering age, their lives completely changed from the complete absence of their family and community surroundings to joyful ones, as cochlear implants restored the joy of childhood and hope in life.
The little girl’s father, Jude Zaqout, describes the journey of the family suffering through the discovery of their daughter Jude’s deafness, until the moments when Jude began her journey to get her life back, where she underwent a cochlear implant operation with national medical team hands headed by Dr. Mohammed Murad.
As for Salma, she had meningococcemia since her infancy and lost her sense of hearing as a result. Her mother described with tears of joy the moment Salma responded to her voice after the operation.
Meanwhile, Dr. Muhammad Murad head of the cochlear implantation committee at the Ministry of Health, explained the program is moving with clear goals to restore hope to deaf children in the Gaza Strip, announcing that the team is close to performing the 100th operation this year after the announcement of the Localization of the service in Gaza.
Dr. Murad indicated that the Ministry of Health made great efforts to provide a cochlear implant service for children with hearing impairment in the Gaza Strip, the program has reached localization of cochlear implant program in the Gaza Strip by national medical hands and conducted its first operations in December 2021.
Dr. Murad added that the specialized medical staff at the Ministry of Health restored hope and life to 97 children, with the partnership and support of Hamad Hospital, the Gaza Reconstruction Association for Development and Rehabilitation, the Bama Foundation, and the “I Have the Right to Hear” initiative.
Dr. Mohammed declared that the cost of the cochlear device is about $12,000 and it is provided through the cochlear implantation program for free in the Gaza Strip, with the generous support of partner institutions. where Patients are followed-up post-operative examination and training system through skilled specialists at Hamad Hospital.
It is worth noting that the cost of cochlear implantation abroad is estimated at 20,000 dollars, in addition to the suffering of travel, the accommodation cost, and follow-up after the operation.