Hear the World Foundation donates cochlear implants for the first time

In February 2017, three Panamanian children with profound hearing loss will get the gift of hearing and thus a fair chance of leading an independent life.

This engagement builds on the support the Hear the World Foundation has provided to the Panamanian non-profit organization Fundación Pro Integración since 2013 and marks another milestone in the Swiss foundation’s 10-years history.

“The first cochlear implants donation is an important step for us,” says Lukas Braunschweiler, President of the Hear the World Foundation. “By leveraging another advanced technology from the Sonova product portfolio (editor’s note: the CI manufacturer Advanced Bionics collaborating on this project is a Sonova subsidiary), we can now also give the gift of hearing to children with profound or total hearing loss.”

Although Panama is ranked the second most competitive economy in Latin America according to the World Economic Forum, 26 percent of the population is living in poverty, and is lacking access to audiological care. While the health sector is making major progress in terms of its audiological care infrastructure, the state-run healthcare system can only cover the costs of audiological care for a handful of those living in poverty.

That is why, since 2013, the Hear the World Foundation supports the Fundación pro Integración (FUNPROI), one of the few institutions in the country who closes this gap by providing ear medical care to children living in poverty. By providing hearing aids, funding and expertise, hundreds of children have been helped. In addition, FUNPROI was honoured with the Richard Seewald Award in 2014, an annual recognition by the Hear the World Foundation to honour outstanding engagements.