Some of the stakeholders at the”Review and Outlook of the Cochlear Nucleus Implantation in Nigeria,” in Abuja, recently.
Nigeria has been urged to collaborate with the private sector and relevant non-governmental organisations in providing hearing implants and surgical operations to support people living with hearing deformities. Business Manager, North East & Sub-Saharan Africa at Cochlear, Marwan Salama, made the appeal during a ‘Review and Outlook of the Cochlear Nucleus Implantation in Nigeria,’ in Abuja.
A cochlear implant is a piece of electronic prosthesis used for the rehabilitation of profound hearing loss.
According to Salama, a 2020 study published in the journal Hearing Research, 7.3 million Nigerians suffer from hearing loss, with 4.6 million of those cases considered to be disabling.
“The study also found that the prevalence of hearing loss in Nigeria is higher among adults and older adults, with 10.5 per cent of adults over the age of 65 suffering from hearing loss.
“Available data show the total costs of cochlear implants, including the devices, surgery and rehabilitation is about N20 million in Nigeria and $50,000 to $100,000 in Europe and the United States. This has necessitated state-sponsored subsidies and coverage by insurance in these countries.”
Some experts, to address this challenge in Nigeria, at the weekend gathered in Abuja to review Cochlear Implantation in Nigeria and engage with policymakers on ways to support people with hearing impairment who need implants and surgery.
“Transforming the lives of patients with hearing impairments is our primary goal. We thought of this event as a collective event for everyone – from policymakers, healthcare professionals, and stakeholders- to sit together and develop an effective guideline on how to help more people with hearing deformity in Nigeria.
“To get solutions for Nigeria, this will require a special i ntervention of the government where those implants can be bulk purchased which will bring down the price, and then the specialists that are the ENT surgeons should be provided more training in Cochlear implants in different centres.”
Salama also said, “We seek the support of the government to implement the cochlear implantation program in Nigeria through the National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA). The introduction of Newborn Hearing Screening and financing of the services of implantation in well-equipped federal institutions and hospitals across the four regions in Nigeria will ease access for citizens. This will also curb medical tourism.”
Also, Ear Nose and Throat Surgeon, Federal University of Health Sciences, Otukpo (FUHSO), formerly Faculty of Medical Sciences, University of Jos, Professor Samual Agida Adoga, corroborated earlier speakers. Adoga, said that the government needs to formulate policies that subsidise the cost of implants for many poor patients.
“For instance, in Europe, any child delivered with hearing loss will have Cochlear implants because they are enrolled for health insurance,” he said. “In Egypt, the government pays for one year, but we don’t have such policies in Nigeria. We need the government to intervene in this aspect.”
Commenting, the Chief Medical Director (CMD), Jos University Teaching Hospital (JUTH), Dr Pokop Bupwatda, urged the Federal Government to intervene in the provision of cochlear implants through the National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA).
In his remarks, Deputy High Commissioner of Australia in Nigeria, Matthew Mechan, restated Australia’s commitment to supporting Cochlear Programmes in Nigeria. Mechan said the Australian government has been supporting Cochlear, which is one of our most innovative companies that that has made significant positive impacts on many people around the world.
Contributing, Dr. Douglass Green of the Jacksonville Hearing and Balance Institute said, “The Nigerian government should partner with the industry, with the Cochlear Corporation and other cochlear implant companies to allow access to this kind of technology.”
Responding, Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Dr Muhammad Ali Pate Federal Government pledged to support citizens with hearing loss to access cochlear implants and other medical technologies through a policy that will expand the coverage of the NHIA.
Other experts at the event, including, Dr. Rabasa, Hafsah, Health Specialist, Abdul Samad Rabiu Initiative Africa (ASR Africa), Prof. Emmanuel Kolo, Ear, Nose and Throat (ENT) surgeon with Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital, Kano, among others stressed on benefits of Cochlear Implantable Hearing Solution.
The Head of the Specialty Hospital Division at the Federal Ministry of Health, Dr Aderemi Azeez, said that cochlear implants provide a good quality of life to those who have been incapacitated by the loss of hearing.
“The Cochlear implant is a way of restoring their lives and bringing them out of poverty. Though it costs a lot even in developed countries, we are here to see ways that government and private sector initiatives can make healthcare more readily available to the greater population.”
Dr Ochenehi Samuel, a beneficiary of the hearing technology, narrated how he was almost butted out of medical care after he lost his hearing following a typhoid fever diagnosis.
With the help of the cochlear implant, donated by Dr. Douglass Green of the Jacksonville Hearing and Balance Institute through his medical charity, Samuel said that he has finished his medical studies. He is also expecting to finish his medical residency as an ENT specialist at the Jos University Teaching Hospital.