THE MINISTER OF HEALTH AND FAMILY WELFARE (SHRI GHULAM NABI AZAD)
(a) Yes. According to the National Sample Survey Organization (NSSO) 58th round (2002),
291 persons per lakh population were hearing disabled in India, out of which, about 7%
were born with it. The major reasons for deafness among children are genetic,
complications during pregnancy and illnesses such as Rubella, Cytomegalovirus (CMV),
Toxoplasmosis and Herpes and use of ototoxic drugs, which can damage the hearing system
of a baby before birth.
The number of children born deaf State/UT-wise is not available.
(b) The number of Deaf/Hearing Impaired persons in the rural and urban areas State/UT-
wise is at Annexure-I.
(c)The major activities under :
(1) National Programme for Prevention and Control of Deafness (NPPCD) comprise of :
(i) Early detection of deafness amongst children from 0-14 years by active surveillance
in the form of school surveys, deafness detection camps in rural and slum areas of
selected districts during 11th Five Year Plan and majority of districts in the country
during the 12th Five year Plan;
(ii) Prevention of deafness by early detection and treatment, medical and/or surgical,
wherever required;
(iii) Provision of deafness detection kit in every PHC of the selected districts;
(iv) Up-gradation of the equipment for detection, measurement and medical/surgical
treatment of the deafness in the District Hospitals of the selected Districts;
(v) Provision of human resource;
(vi) Training to the ASHA workers, Medical Officers, obstetricians, pediatricians, school
teachers to detect deafness in children.
(2) As per information received from Department of Disability Affairs, M/o Social Justice
& Empowerment, the activities under the Persons with Disabilities (Equal Opportunities,
Protection of Rights and Full Participation ) Act, 1995 are as follows:
(i) Undertake or cause to be undertaken surveys, investigations and research concerning
the cause of occurrence of disabilities.
(ii) Promote various methods of preventing disabilities.
(iii) Screen all the children at least once in a year for the purpose of identifying
`at-risk` cases.
(iv) Provide facilities for training to the staff at the primary health centers.
(v) Sponsor or cause to be sponsored awareness campaigns and is disseminated or cause to
be disseminated information for general hygiene, health and sanitation.
(vi) Take measures for pre-natal and post-natal care of mother and child.
(vii) Educate the public through the pre-schools, schools, primary health Centers,
village level workers and anganwadi workers.
(viii) Create awareness amongst the masses through television, radio and other mass
media on the causes of disabilities and the preventive measures to be adopted.
(d) A statement showing details of financial assistance provided to the States/UTs under
NPPCD during each of the last three years and the current year, State/UT-wise is at
Annexure-II.
(e) At present NPPCD is implemented in 192 districts. Further expansion to 200 more
districts for the period from 2012 to 2017 is planned at a cost of Rs.304.79 crore. To
create awareness about the treatment of deafness at initial stage, the NPPCD plans to
augment the IEC activites.
