eSwatini audiology unit aims to assist HIV children after hearing loss

About 25 per cent of children who were treated for drug-resistant Tuberculosis in eSwatini ,have lost hearing as a side effect of the drug used, the Ministry of Health said on Monday, 12 November 2018.

This has led to the construction of a first-of-its-kind audiology unit at the Baylor College of Medicine Children’s Foundation in capital Mbabane.

The training institution said a significant number of HIV-infected children experienced hearing loss after being given the drug.

“The number further increased in children treated with injectable medicines for multi-drug resistant TB,” the centre said.

Principal secretary in the Ministry of Health, Simon Zwane, said this had devastating consequences for the children, adding that based on these findings, the Ministry of Health sought funds through Global Fund to procure audiology testing equipment.

“In addition, the ministry has committed audiologists to be deployed to the Baylor Centre to provide services free of charge for the people that need them,” he said.

– APA