Cote d'Ivoire
Cote d'Ivoire
- Percent of children screened for hearing loss:
- Incidence of permanent hearing loss among newborns:
Current Status of Early Hearing Detection and Intervention for Children (500 word limit)
Universal newborn hearing screening is now considered as essential in public health care for the early detection and intervention for childhood hearing impairment. In The Ivory Coast, there is neither a consensus for systematic detection of child hearing loss, nor a management program for this sensorial disability. Most of the children are diagnosed at 3 or 4 years old and less than 1 infant per 5 can benefit from hearing aids, the only therapeutic option currently available in this country. Generalized hearing screening in newborns, as recommended by several health programs, is necessary in Coˆte d’Ivoire, taking into consideration the prevalence of early or congenital hearing loss which is about 6 in 1000 in our study. This higher rate in our context must allow authorities to introduce current arrangements for hearing screening in infancy. It is possible to implement such a hearing screening in primary health cares centers and neonatal intensive care units targeting all newborns, with and without any risk factor. However, investments in equipment and in medical and technical staff are necessary, as well as a more efficient follow-up system to reduce the great number of patients lost in the course of the program.
Demographics
- Population: 22,848,945
- Number of Annual Births (2012 est): 679,000
- Birth rate: 29.25 births/1,000 population (2014 est.)
- Percent of GDP spent on health care (2011): 6.8% of GDP (2011)
- Percent of Health Care expenditures spent by government: 23.6% (2006)
- Physician density: 0.14 physicians/1,000 population (2008)
- Percent of newborns attended by skilled providers: 59%
- Infant Mortality: 60.16 deaths/1,000 live births
- Literacy (age 15 and over can read and write): 56.2%
Publications about EHDI Programs in Cote d'Ivore (maximum of 5)
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