IPL Sunrisers team members launch 'Hearing Impaired Girl Child Project' initiated by Apollo Hospitals & SAHI!

IPL Sunrisers team members launch 'Hearing Impaired Girl Child Project' initiated by Apollo Hospitals & SAHI!

IPL Sunrisers team members, WS Laxman, Dale Steyn, Ravi Bopara, David Warner, Muttiah Muralitharan, M.Henriques , Hanuma Vihari, Ashish Reddy, formally launched the 'Hearing Impaired Girl Child Project1 (HIGCP) initiated by Apollo Hospitals & SAHI (Society to Aid the Hearing Impaired), on Tuesday at Apollo Hospitals, Jubilee Hills. The cricketers later interacted, entertained and played cricket with the kids.

As per WHO estimates, approximately 63 million people suffer from significant hearing impairment every year in India. 4-5 babies in every 1000 born suffer from severe to profound hearing loss in India. If left untreated in the first 3-5 years of life, these children end up with hearing and speech disorders through their lifetime.

HIGCP seeks to help hearing impaired girls under the age of fifteen in India. The aim is to give the state-of-the-art Cochlear implant and the surgery costing approximately Rs. 8 lakhs in all, virtually free of cost. Apollo being the authorized hospital in the state for these surgeries, receives the PM Relief Fund of approximately Rs. 3 lakhs for Cochlear Implant surgeries. SAHI will pitch in to fund the balance. The one year Auditory Verbal Therapy required Post-surgery, will be funded by Pink Crocodile, an international NGO. SAHI intends to help a minimum of 50 girl children under the project, this year.

We have a strong rationale to exclusively focus on the girl child for this project, says Dr E.C.Vinay Kumar, Head, Dept, of ENT, Apollo Health City and Secretary, SAHI. The reasons are varied, a hearing impaired girl is at a greater risk of facing abuse both physically and mentally. Historically too, the needs of a female child is neglected by parents and the prohibitive cost of treatment will compel them to use the limited resources on their son's needs. Also a hearing and speech impaired girl is in greater danger of remaining unemployed or unmarried or being ill-treated at her in-laws place, he adds.
Cochlear Implant Surgery will empower a hearing impaired girl child, help her evolve into a respectable citizen, besides enabling her to achieve her dreams and ambitions. She will be able to live life on her own terms, says Dr Rambabu, ENT Surgeon, Apollo Health City & Director Medical Services, SAHI.

About Society to Aid the Hearing Impaired (SAHI): In November of 2004, a group of ENT surgeons, audiologists, and hospital management personnel, united with concerned citizens, to form SAHI. It is an Indian NGO that aims at helping underprivileged children with impaired hearing. SAHI mainly seeks to identify and aid children living in rural areas, with little or no access to modern medical treatment. Since its establishment, SAHI has been addressing this problem by means of conducting camps in remote areas of the state. Children with learning disabilities or hearing loss are given hearing aids by SAHI and those with ear diseases are given free ear surgeries.

About Apollo Hospitals: It was in 1983, that Dr. Prathap Reddy made a pioneering endeavour by launching India's first corporate hospital - Apollo Hospital in Chennai. Now, as Asia largest and most trusted healthcare group, its presence includes 8,488 beds across 51 Hospitals, 1,586 Pharmacies, 92 Primary Care and Diagnostic Clinics, 100 Telemedicine units across 10 countries. Health Insurance services, Global Projects Consultancy, 15 colleges of Nursing and Hospital Management and a Research Foundation with a focus on global Clinical Trials, epidemiological studies, stem cell & genetic research and the first Proton Therapy Center across Asia, Africa and Australia.

In a rare honor, the Government of India issued a commemorative stamp in recognition of Apollo's contribution, the first for a healthcare organization. Apollo Hospitals Chairman, Dr. Prathap C Reddy, was conferred with the prestigious Padma Vibhushan in 2010. For more than 28 years, the Apollo Hospitals Group has continuously excelled and maintained leadership in medical innovation, world-class clinical services and cutting-edge technology. Our hospitals are consistently ranked amongst the best hospitals globally for advanced medical services and research.