Better hearing care for communities in Uganda

In Uganda, hearing loss is a significant yet often invisible public health challenge. Many children grow up with untreated hearing impairments, and in the poorest areas, entire classrooms of deaf or hard of hearing pupils may never have received a proper ear examination. The consequences touch every aspect of a child's development – from language acquisition and learning to social participation and future opportunities.

This reality is what drives Lions Clubs International Norway's newest international project: “Improvement of Ear and Hearing Care among Toddlers and Schoolchildren in West Nile Region, Uganda.”

The project’s origin: From medical expertise to humanitarian action

The initiative took shape when Dr. Hanne Berdal, Lions member and ENT Specialist from Oslo, Norway, was asked to explore potential new humanitarian projects for Lions District D104E (located south-east in Norway). Drawing on her decades of experience in audiology – as well as previous volunteer work in Kenya – she quickly saw that hearing care represented a critical gap in Uganda’s health landscape.

Her first journey to Uganda together with the manager of Lions Aid Norway, Annette Pemmer, confirmed the urgency. In Arua, located in the north-western part of Uganda, they met school children who had never undergone an objective hearing test and families who struggled with communication because parents didn’t know sign language. Local healthcare workers were motivated but lacked equipment, training, and the infrastructure needed to support systematic hearing care.

Building a collaborative program

Together with Lions Club Arua, and local expertise at the Pibero Medical and Eye Center and Arua Regional Referral Hospital, a three year program was designed to strengthen early diagnosis and local competence. The program integrates hearing screening into kindergartens and primary schools, expands outreach services into remote communities, and includes structured training for teachers, nurses, audiographers, and parents. Public awareness efforts through radio, TV programs, and community education aim to reduce preventable hearing loss and encourage earlier intervention.

This region around Arua, near the borders of DR Congo and South Sudan, is also a key focus area for the Norwegian Lions’ development assistance efforts in Uganda. Alongside initiatives aimed at improving agriculture, strengthening microclimates, securing access to clean water, educating schoolchildren, and supporting the formation of local farmer groups, they see the Improvement of Ear and Hearing Care project as an important part of this broader development approach.

Dr. Berdal elaborates:

“By integrating hearing health initiatives into these wider community programs, the goal is to ensure more sustainable and long term improvements in quality of life.”

A turning point: Modern diagnostic tools from Interacoustics

A decisive moment for the project came with the arrival of modern audiological equipment from Interacoustics, facilitated by Diatec Norway. Prior to this, the local clinician that runs the project, audiologist Dr. Ismael Byaruhanga at Pibero Medical and Eye Center, had relied on borrowed tools from other countries, and diagnostic work was limited by outdated or insufficient equipment.

With the new instruments - including audiometers, tympanometers, video otoscopes, and equipment suitable for testing very young children - the team could finally perform accurate and comprehensive hearing assessments.

For the local clinicians and everyone involved, the delivery was transformative. Dr. Berdal noted:

“The local team is extremely grateful for the delivery from Interacoustics and Diatec and now it’s possible to move forward. Without this equipment, starting the project would have been completely unrealistic.”

Within the project’s first months, the team conducted seven outreach screening camps and examined more than 200 children and adults. The Eruba Primary School - which has around 60 deaf or hard of hearing pupils - is now included in systematic testing and follow up, something that had never been possible before.

Looking toward sustainable, long term support

The project’s long term goal is not only to treat today’s cases but to build durable capacity within the region. This includes creating sustainable systems for hearing aid fitting and follow up, training teachers and health workers to recognize hearing loss earlier, and setting up satellite units in areas with high demand.

“Expanding access to hearing aids remains a crucial focus, given that many children who need amplification simply have no access to it,” Dr. Berdal said and continued:

“But the current project is a great start, and I hope to go back later to train the local clinicians further.”

This project highlights the strength of true collaboration: Lions provides long term commitment, local partners bring cultural and practical insight, and Interacoustics and Diatec Norway deliver the modern tools needed for proper diagnostics. Together, they are opening new possibilities for children with hearing loss in Uganda:

“For many, a single hearing test or the chance to receive a hearing aid may be the beginning of a brighter, more connected future,” Dr. Berdal concluded.