Help for the deaf

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Help for the deaf

(China Daily)
Updated: 2009-07-09 11:17

Help for the deaf

The Ministry of Finance has set aside 400 million yuan ($58 million) to help poor children suffering from impaired hearing, with cochlear implants and hearing aids.

Co-organized by the China Disabled Person's Federation, the three-year project will help 1,500 children aged 1-5 years with free cochlear implants and post-surgery training. Another 9,000 children will receive free hearing aids.

China has 137,000 deaf children under 6 years of age, 84 percent of whom are seriously impaired. Each year, 23,000 babies with hearing defects are born.

Research has shown that scientific intervention at an early stage can help children overcome their hearing impairment, but 70 percent of the children live in poor families that cannot afford cochlear implants or hearing aids.