Somalia gets its first hearing screening reference center

By Mohammed Dhaysane

MOGADISHU, Somalia (AA) - Somalia’s Recep Tayyip Erdogan Hospital in the capital Mogadishu opened a hearing screening reference center Tuesday.

The center is the first of its kind in the country.

The opening ceremony was attended by senior Somali government officials including Health Minister Fowzia Abikar Nur as well as Turkish Ambassador to Somalia Mehmet Yilmaz.

The center will use brainstem evoked response audiometry and detect hearing loss in newborns and children.

“Glad to attend the opening ceremony of Hearing Screening Reference Center at Recep Tayyip Erdogan Hospital with H.E. @AbikarDr Min. of Health," Yilmaz said on Twitter.

"Also in the center, modern digital hearing devices will be used in the treatment of patients with hearing loss,” the Turkish embassy said in a statement on Twitter after the ceremony.

The hospital, which is also known as Digfeer Hospital locally, is one of the country's largest and most modern with a 13,500 square-meter indoor premises that includes 20 neonatal incubators, 14 newborn intensive care beds, 12 intensive care beds, four operating rooms and laboratory and radiology units.