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Strategic Plan 2018 – 2022

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Strategic Plan 2018 – 2022 Strategic Plan 2018 – 2022 Sound Seekers (The Commonwealth Society for the Deaf) Shakira, age 13, with her friends at Namasimba Primary School, in Malawi Foreword by HRH The Duke of York Patron Sound Seekers - Strategic Plan 2018 – 2022 2 Sound Seekers - Strategic Plan 2018 – 2022 3 Executive Summary This strategic plan was designed to give direction to Sound Seekers, the trading name of The Commonwealth Society for the Deaf, for the next four years. It was developed using the organisation’s range of technical expertise and knowledge developed from lessons learned during the previous strategy (2013-2017). It provides a clear vision on how the organisation will move forward over the next four years, setting out fve strategic priorities alongside activities which identify where we will invest resources and how we will work with a variety of stakeholders to achieve our mission to support people with hearing loss to realise their rights by enabling access to healthcare and education. Sound Seekers recognises that our mission can only be accomplished through a holistic approach of delivering audiology, community and educational services. The strategy for 2018 – 2022 enhances Sound Seekers’ holistic approach to fulfl the rights of people with hearing loss and the key commitments set out in the global health and disability agenda. Our strategic goal refects this by aiming to ensure people with hearing loss realise their rights by gaining access to an integrated and comprehensive Audiology, Community and Education (ACE) programme that is sustained by national governments. Left: Natasha, age 5, has her hearing tested for the frst time at Beit Cure Hospital in Lusaka, Zambia Right: Happy, age 16, in Malawi, playing football with his friends Sound Seekers - Strategic Plan 2018 – 2022 04 Sound Seekers - Strategic Plan 2018 – 2022 05 There is strong evidence that demonstrates a small investment now can alleviate many challenges for people with hearing 1Global costs of unaddressed loss in the future as they become empowered to make hearing loss and cost-efectiveness of interventions, WHO, 2017. valuable contributions to society. Investing in health and education services, and delivering them as integrated and 2 Deafness and hearing loss fact sheet,WHO, 2017. comprehensive programmes will ultimately help governments reduce the economic burden of hearing loss. The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that the lack of attention towards hearing loss poses an overall annual cost of US$750 billion dollars globally.1 This includes health sector costs (excluding the cost of hearing devices), costs of educational support, loss of productivity, and societal costs.2 This strategy will be rolled out alongside global eforts to reduce the global burden of disease caused by untreated and/or preventable hearing loss. Sound Seekers uses cost- efective strategies to help mitigate the challenges for people with hearing loss, by working in partnership with governments so they can develop and sustain quality ear and hearing healthcare as an integral part of their health systems, and increase access to quality education for people with hearing loss by training mainstream teachers and improving the school environment. Sound Seekers will also continue to promote awareness of primary ear and hearing care in an efort to reduce preventable hearing loss and work with families and communities to enhance the social and emotional well-being of people with hearing loss. Sound Seekers will continue to work with other stakeholders and global alliances, within the broader context of the response by governments and other development agencies to avoid duplicating initiatives and ensure that this is a collective global efort. We will also continue to act as a catalyst for change to help ensure the rights of people with hearing loss are realised. Above: Foday and Sorie, age 11, enjoying lessons at St Joseph’s School for the Hearing Impaired in Makeni, Sierra Leone Below: Teacher of the Deaf signing in her class in Chilengwa Primary School in Ndola, Zambia Sincere thanks are given to the many individuals and organisations that contributed their experiences, opinions and ideas to this document and to our donors and supporters without whom our work would not be possible. Sound Seekers - Strategic Plan 2018 – 2022 06 Sound Seekers - Strategic Plan 2018 – 2022 07 Overview Our mission to support people with hearing The new Sustainable Development Goals Deafness separates loss to realise their rights relies not only on (SDGs) guide the international development “ their identifcation and treatment but upon agenda until 2030 and one of the key comprehensive programmes that increase principles is ‘Leave No One Behind’. The reality people from people” their access to quality education and raise for people with hearing loss from the poorer community awareness about the causes and communities of the developing world is that efects of hearing loss and about the rights they are often socially isolated, excluded from Helen Keller of people with hearing loss to help reduce school and have limited or no prospects for stigma and discrimination associated with the future. Sound Seekers’ strategic goal and hearing loss. Delivering audiology, community priorities aim to ensure people with hearing and educational services as an integrated loss are never left behind or left in isolation Hearing loss can have a profound impact on health, education, and comprehensive programme is key to but can enjoy their rights in a fully inclusive 1 livelihood, social well-being and economic independence of Global costs of unaddressed hearing loss and cost-efectiveness of addressing all these challenges successfully society while able to access services, secure a individuals as well as on communities and countries. Despite interventions, WHO, 2017. while at the same time contributing to the livelihood and sustain their future. the fact that the majority of hearing loss can be treated, many 2 Sustainable Development Goals set by the people with hearing loss in both resource-poor and high- Deafness and hearing loss fact sheet,WHO, 2017. United Nations, which include: Sound Seekers aims to promote and realise income settings do not seek or receive hearing health care, and the rights of persons with hearing loss 4 the current production of hearing aids meets less than 10% of Global, regional, and national incidence, • Good health and well-being (ensuring enshrined in the UN Convention on the Rights the global need3. prevalence, and years lived with disability for 310 diseases and injuries, 1990-2015: healthy lives and promoting well-being of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) adopted a systematic analysis for the Global for all at all ages); in 2006. Of particular relevance to Sound Results from the most recent Global Burden of Disease Burden of Disease Study 2015, Global Seekers’ work is the right to the highest 4 Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Studies indicate a growing, and now alarmingly high, burden Factors Study 2015 (GBD 2015). • Quality education (ensuring inclusive and attainable standard of health (Article 25), 5 of hearing loss . Analyses of the results to enable direct equitable quality education and promoting including the obligation of State Parties to 5&6 comparisons across the studies show that hearing loss was Blake S Wilson, Debara L Tucci, Michael H Merson, Gerard M lifelong learning opportunities for all); provide early identifcation and intervention the 11th leading cause of years lived with disability [defned O’Donoghue, Global hearing health care: services to prevent disability and reduce the by WHO as the years of productive life lost due to disability] in new fndings and perpsectives,Lancet, • End to poverty in all its manifestations impact of disability and the right to education 2010 and the fourth leading cause in both 2013 and 20156. This July 2017. (aiming to ensure social protection for the (Article 24) with an obligation to ensure an is higher than many other chronic diseases such as diabetes, poor and vulnerable, and increase access inclusive education system for all persons with 7 dementia and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease . Despite to basic services); and disabilities. Among our countries of operation, this, hearing loss still receives limited research and health Zambia, The Gambia, Malawi and Sierra Leone funding or public awareness. • Reduce inequality within and among have signed and ratifed the Convention while countries (empowering and promoting Cameroon has signed the Convention but is Sound Seekers has a long and successful history of promoting the social, economic and political yet to ratify it. ear and hearing health in developing countries. However, in inclusion of all). recent years, our role has been evolving and, increasingly, the emphasis has focused on a more holistic approach which recognises that identifying and treating hearing loss is only the frst step in reducing the global burden of disease caused by unaddressed and/or preventable hearing loss. Sound Seekers - Strategic Plan 2018 – 2022 08 Sound Seekers - Strategic Plan 2018 – 2022 09 Currently, despite the high rates of hearing Sound Seekers believes ear and hearing care loss worldwide and the economic burden should be a fundamental component of a this brings, ear and hearing care remains country’s healthcare service and that the absent from many global health systems. focus should be on integrating hearing health Furthermore, many of the causes of hearing services in the healthcare systems
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