Shri Thaawarchand Gehlot, Union Minister for Social Justice and Empowerment has called upon organizations, public sectors and corporate sectors to come forward to fulfill their Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) by helping the Persons with Disabilities (Divyangjans). He congratulated Airport Authority of India (AAI) and Power Finance Corporation (PFC) for their CSR initiative for Cochlear Implant Surgery of children through Artificial Limbs Manufacturing Corporation of India (ALIMCO)”. He said that it is very heartening that Public Sector Undertakings and Corporate sectors are coming forward to fulfill their social responsibility by helping the Divyangjans. He was addressing at the inauguration ceremony of the “CSR Summit for Pioneering Cochlear Implant Surgery under CSR initiative of AAI through ALIMCO” here yesterday.

Shri Gehlot said that an estimate shows that around 35,000 children need Cochlear Implant annually in India. Government of India has made provision to sponsor 500 numbers under the ADIP Scheme which is minuscule in comparison to actual requirement. Till date more than 1000 number of Cochlear Implant Surgeries have been successfully conducted in the country under the ADIP Government of India and CSR funds.

AAI sponsored Cochlear Implant surgeries for 115 children with profound hearing loss under their CSR project implemented by ALIMCO. Cochlear Implant Surgery and post-operative rehabilitation are undertaken by Ali Yavar Jang National Institute of Speech and Language Disabilities (Divyangjan), Mumbai. This major CSR initiative of AAI will help the children to completely overcome their hearing disability, thereby enabling them to hear and speak coherently and making them fully independent to lead a normal and productive life. This effort will not only bring these underprivileged children to the mainstream of life but will also contribute to national economy.

 Cochlear Implant is an electronic device having two parts (External and Internal). Internal part is surgically implanted in the skull (Cochlear) by ENT surgeons. Post-operative rehabilitation is undertaken by Audiologist and speech language pathologist and special educator of Hearing Impaired. Parents have very important role in stimulating child to learn speech and language at home and maintain the external part (Processor). Details process of home bound training is also available on website: www.cochlearimplant.in. Children with hearing loss as young as 12 months old and within 5 years of age can be eligible for a cochlear implant under ADIP scheme as per the criteria of ADIP Scheme of Govt. of India.

The cochlear implant technology may help children who:

·      Have severe to profound hearing loss in both ears.

·      Receive little or no benefit from hearing aids.

·      No Development Delay or Mental Retardation. 

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Sanjay Kumar/jk/MoSJ&E/15.12.2017

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