On 1 July 2007, the government began rolling out a national newborn hearing screening and early intervention programme (UNHSEIP). By 1st of July 2010 all district health boards had begun screening babies for hearing loss. Visit the National Screening Unit’s newborn screening website for more information.
The NFD first raised the need for a national screening programme in 1998. That’s because each year in New Zealand, up to 170 babies are born with permanent congenital hearing loss. Yet many of these children do not have their hearing problems diagnosed until age four. And this has a major impact on their social, educational and cognitive development.
Project HIEDI
In 2001, the NFD decided that advocating for a national programme to screen newborns’ hearing would be our top priority.
To that end, we funded two sector meetings which galvanised support for a newborn hearing screening programme to be established.
Following this meeting, an independent lobby group called ‘Project HIEDI’ was established. HIEDI stands for Hearing Impairment - Early Detection and Intervention. A dedicated group of volunteers and a part-time project manager made up the project team.
In May 2006, we were able to celebrate success together. The government announced that it would fund a newborn hearing screening and early intervention programme for all New Zealand children. As a result, babies born with a hearing loss will now be offered help much earlier. And they’ll have the best chance of achieving their full potential.
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