The medical component of the project "Improving the Protection of Children in Emergencies in Ukraine by Providing Safe Shelters, Food and Non-Food Items, and Psychosocial Support" focuses primarily on healthcare facilities and their departments that care for children. Therefore, another shipment of medical equipment was donated to the maternity department of the Vynohradiv District Hospital in Zakarpattia.

Medical Aid Committee in Zakarpattya has been aware of the need for early hearing diagnosis in infants and modern equipment for this purpose since the very beginning of the project, which is supported by "terre des hommes Deutschland e.V." and funded by the German Federal Foreign Office. In fact, the Committee donated the first device for recording otoacoustic emissions, designed to test the hearing of children of all ages, including newborns and premature babies, to the Uzhhorod City Maternity Hospital back in 2023. Now, the charitable organization has purchased an audiometer for hearing tests to support Vynohradiv doctors and their little patients. 

Audiometry of newborns is mandatory in the examination of infants. As doctors note, diagnosis is necessary for the early detection of hearing impairments, as this is a key factor for the proper development of speech and cognitive skills. Screening allows for timely treatment or rehabilitation to avoid delays in speech development, psycho-emotional development, and further learning problems.

For reference: Vynohradiv District Hospital serves a significant part of the settlements in the Berehove District of Zakarpattia Oblast, including internally displaced persons who left their homes due to the war and settled in communities in Zakarpattia. Last year, 807 children were born in the hospital's perinatal department, 52 of whom were IDPs.