Director-General of General Endowment Department, Dr. Khalid bin Mohammad Al Thani, and Head of the Specialised Hospitals Group, Ali Abdul Qadir Al Jenahi, at the agreement signing ceremony.
The General Department of Endowments at the Ministry of Awqaf and Islamic Affairs yesterday signed an agreement with Hamad Medical Corporation (HMC) to support the project of cochlear implant surgeries.
Under the agreement, the Department will provide financial support from its endowment fund for healthcare for needy people with hearing loss to receive hearing aids and cochlear implants.
The agreement was signed by Director General of General Endowment Department, Dr. Khalid bin Mohammad Al Thani, and Head of the Specialised Hospitals Group, Ali Abdul Qadir Al Jenahi, at a ceremony held at the headquarters of the Department.
“The initiative was taken following the directive of donors who specified to spend the amount on bringing back the hearing and speech of needy people through cochlear implant surgeries,” said Dr. Khalid. He said that the department will cover 80 cochlear implant surgeries this year as per the agreement. “We singed a cooperation agreement with HMC to extend the support for three years during which it is expected to cover over 300 surgeries for needy people,” said Dr. Khalid.
He said the Department is also providing financial support to cover health bills of needy people residing in Qatar suffering from renal diseases and organ transplantation among others. “The project of cochlear implant surgeries is part of the projects of General Department of Endowments which are being implemented abroad,” said Dr. Khalid.
Head of ENT Section and Head of Qatari Programme for Cochlear Implants, Dr. Abdul Salam Al Qahtani, said the cooperation between the Ministry of Awqaf and Islamic Affairs and HMC will continue during next three years. “The project targeted primarily the needy children with lost hearing in Gaza but we are in cooperation with authorities concerned in Kyrgyzstan to launch the project there,” said Dr. Al Qahtani. He said with the support of General Endowment Department the project will be launched first time in Kyrgyzstan. “The project began three years ago in Gaza during which we 190 people with lost hearing benefited from cochlear implant surgeries,” said Dr. Al Qahtani.
Speaking about the cost of the surgery, Dr. Al Qahtani said that international companies give special prices to charity organisations which ranges from QR40,000 to QR45,000.
“The market price of device reaches up to QR100,000. In some places like Gaza and Kyrgyzstan, people are unable to buy such expensive devices and afford the surgery costs due to financial problems,” said Dr. Al Qahtani.
He said that in Gaza 1,000 children and in Kyrgyzstan 250 children are waiting for cochlear implant surgeries. Director of the Audiology and Balance Unit at HMC, Dr. Khalid Abdul Hadi, said that the success rate of cochlear implant surgery is 100 percent in Qatar.
“The hearing and speech rate have been recorded at 99 percent and 90 percent respectively among the recipients after the surgery,” said Dr. Abdul Hadi, who is also Deputy Head of Qatari Programme for Cochlear Implant.
He said under the programme over 300 cochlear implant surgeries in Qatar and 190 surgeries in Gaza have been done successfully.
