International guidelines recommend that all newborns should have their hearing tested within one month of birth. If they have hearing loss, they should be formally diagnosed by three months of age and receive appropriate intervention by the time they are six months old.
But South Africa doesn’t have a national policy for universal newborn hearing screening, and many of the almost 6 000 babies born deaf in South Africa every year only get diagnosed sometime after their second birthday. By that time a critical window for brain development has been missed, which compromises their ability to learn, do well at school and interact with the
world around them.
In this learning brief, we look at how the Hold My Hand Accelerator, a public–private collaboration between DGMT and the Presidency, worked with subject specialists to propose a new policy and set in motion a trial project to support universal newborn hearing screening in South Africa.
To read this learning brief, download a PDF, or read it magazine-style on ISSUU.
