Kenya

Challenge

In Kenya hearing impairment is the fourth leading cause of disability in the country.¹ Kenya’s government approved a new National Ear and Hearing Care Strategy in 2023, with key priorities including the establishment of newborn hearing screening, expanded financial coverage for hearing technology, and the development of services to address pediatric hearing loss, but implementation at the county level, remains at an early stage.

Kenya has only around 75 ear, nose and throat (ENT) surgeons and just 7 audiologists to serve a population of over 50 million.² This critical scarcity of ear and hearing care providers is a key barrier to universal newborn hearing screening, as ENT surgeons, ENT clinical officers, audiologists, audiology technicians, and speech and language therapists are all needed to fully support hearing care for children in Kenya.

Source:

1. Ear_and_Hearing_Care_Strategic_Plan_2023_2028_Kenya_National_Final_version_Signed.pdf

2. A look at hearing healthcare in Kenya

How we help:

• Conduct training workshops to 8 primary healthcare workers on newborn and early childhood hearing screening techniques at pilot hub (KUTRRH) and the spoke facility (Kiambu County Referral Hospital).
• Establish a hearing aid fitting program 
• Advocate for integration of hearing aids into the national supply chain through Kenyan Medical Supplies Authorities as well as the subsidization of hearing aids, screening, and diagnostic services under the Social Health Authority  

About CHAI and KUTTRH

Clinton Health Access Initiative (CHAI), an international NGO experienced in maternal and child health in Kenya has been working in Kenya since 2005, supporting the government to develop scalable solutions to deliver health services. This is a multidisciplinary partnership with CHAI leading and providing technical assistance, integration support, and guidance on embedding screening workflows into existing systems, as well as supporting monitoring, evaluation, and scale-up. The Kenyatta University Teaching Referral and Research Hospital (KUTRRH) was established in 2019, and is a national tertiary facility advancing specialized healthcare. KUTRRH will oversee clinical operations, including screenings, diagnostics, interventions, staff training, and coordination across spoken sites.