How We Are Unique

The Global Foundation for Children With Hearing Loss is one of the very few organizations in the world that works in developing countries to lay the foundational elements in the Continuum of Care for babies and young children with hearing loss. We collaborate with government agencies and in-country partners across both health care and early education to identify and address systematic gaps in services and support for young children with hearing loss and their families.

Instead of providing direct service, our emphasis is on the long-term, comprehensive capacity building required to ensure that children with hearing loss 0-6 years of age have sustainable, local services and support that they need to learn to listen and talk and reach their potential.

We introduce modern technologies and expertise in hearing health care and early education, enabling full integration and inclusion of children with hearing loss into the local communities where they live.  Our innovative and committed approach to establishing local services and expertise result in more young children with hearing loss being able to listen, speak, and thrive.

We place a great deal of importance on creating relationships with local constituents and developing programs in collaboration with our in-country partners. This focus and commitment to true partnership has been a significant contributor to the success and sustainability of our programs over time.

Our core focus areas are:

TRAINING PROGRAMS: We offer multi-year training programs to build capacity and knowledge among medical professionals, teachers, therapists, and families who work with or have children with hearing loss. Our proprietary, in-country training curricula is taught by international experts in pediatric audiology, speech language pathology, auditory-verbal practice, and early intervention. We apply a Train the Trainer approach to ensure scalability and sustainability of our teachings.

CONSULTATION: We offer consultation and project management support to government agencies and local entities in developing countries to establish or enhance in-country health and education services and systems within the Continuum of Care for babies and young children with hearing loss and their families.

OUTREACH INITIATIVES: We partner with local entities in developing countries to raise awareness about pediatric hearing loss and how it can be addressed and help to reduce stigma.

TECHNOLOGY AND RESOURCES: We provide equipment, resources, and tools to help local professionals carry out their work with babies and young children with hearing loss. We also provide hearing technology to young children in need who are supported ongoing by the local professionals we train.

RESEARCH: We support research efforts related to pediatric hearing loss in developing countries that can be used to advance practices in audiology, early intervention, and auditory-verbal practice globally.