World Hearing Day 2026: CBM pushes for stronger hearing health

Hearing loss is often treated as a personal misfortune, yet it is often the result of health systems failing to detect it early and families being unable to afford care. The consequences first appear in childhood, when undiagnosed hearing loss disrupts language development, learning, and participation, and later in adulthood through reduced income prospects and a higher risk of exclusion from work.

Around 90 million children and adolescents aged 5 to 19 live with hearing loss worldwide. Many cases go undetected, especially in low-resource settings. One billion young people, particularly adolescents, face risk from prolonged exposure to loud sounds. The World Health Organization estimates that unaddressed hearing loss costs the global economy more than 980 billion dollars each year and puts progress on poverty reduction at risk. Adults with hearing loss face higher odds of low income and unemployment or underemployment compared to peers with typical hearing. 

World Hearing Day on 3 March 2026 places children at the centre, under the theme: From communities to classrooms, hearing care for all children. CBM will highlight evidence from our programmes, demonstrating how we prevent childhood hearing loss and advance regional advocacy efforts to strengthen ear and hearing health.  

CBM’s ear and hearing care project in Meru County, Kenya

This year, CBM, with funding from Worldwide Hearing Foundation International, has launched a two-year ear and hearing care (EHC) project in Meru County, Kenya. The project focuses on enhancing access to ear and hearing health for newborns, pre-school and school-age children, as well as an estimated population of 30,000 people from all ages in communities of Buuri East and Tigania East sub-counties. Africa Inland Church Health Ministries (AICHM) will implement the project, which runs from 1 January 2026 to 31 December 2027. 

Meru County is home to over 1.5 million people who face critical gaps in ear and hearing care. There is only one ENT specialist and two part-time audiologists in the county. Preventive, early detection, and rehabilitative services are minimal. Limited awareness, stigma, and high costs prevent many children from accessing hearing aids and treatments for ear conditions, leading to learning difficulties and rampant school dropout rates. 

 

This project aims to address these gaps by:

  • Integrating project activities within the Kenya National EHC Strategic Plan 2023 - 2028 

  • Expanding mobile EHC outreach clinics to reach underserved communities 

  • Training primary healthcare workers in the provision of basic ear conditions’ management and referral, using the WHO Primary EHC Training Resources 

  • Building capacity of ENT nurses and Clinical Officers as mid-level EHC providers 

  • Training local audiologists in advanced neonatal and paediatric audiology techniques 

  • Supporting implementation of WHO’s H.E.A.R.I.N.G. Package of EHC Interventions 

  • Conducting school and community ear & hearing screening, treatment and referrals  

  • Improving access to affordable hearing aids and assistive technologies 

By investing in these interventions, donors are enabling life-changing impact: preventing childhood hearing loss, improving educational outcomes, and promoting social and economic inclusion for vulnerable populations. 

CBM’s Ear and Hearing Care programmes’ Outputs 2015-2024

CBM’s regional advocacy work on ear and hearing care

CBM’s ear and hearing care work also includes regional advocacy, in partnership with the World Health Organization Africa Regional Office. CBM provides Ministries of Health with critical data to prioritise ear and hearing care, plan services, and respond to the growing burden of hearing loss and its social and economic impact. The focus remains on prevention, early intervention, and equitable access, with attention to dismantling barriers to ear and hearing care through community outreach, capacity building, and strengthened clinical services, ultimately improving health outcomes for persons with disabilities. 

To learn more about our work