Pöördumine

Saatja: WHO/Europe Ear and Eye Programme <[email protected]>

Saadetud: 06.03.2025 14:52

Adressaat: <=?Windows-1252?Q?Helen_S=F5ber?=>

Koopia: <"Agne Nettan-Sepp">; <[email protected]>; <[email protected]>;

<[email protected]>; <[email protected]>; KÖHLER, Kristina

<[email protected]>

Teema: Invite to nominate/ Technical briefing on Hearing Aid

Specifications and Quality Standards 26 March 2025 9:30–11:00 CET (Zoom)

Tähelepanu! Tegemist on välisvõrgust saabunud kirjaga.Tundmatu saatja

korral palume linke ja faile mitte avada.Tähelepanu! Tegemist on

välisvõrgust saabunud kirjaga.Tundmatu saatja korral palume linke ja

faile mitte avada.Dear National Counterpart,

Please find attached nomination letter for your kind attention noting

that the deadline for nomination is 18 March 2025.

Thank you and best regards,

Health Workforce and Service Delivery Programme

WHO Regional Office for Europe

Copenhagen, Denmark

Web:

Follow WHO on | | |

UN City, Marmorvej 51 Tel.: +45 45 33 70 00 Email: [email protected] DK-2100 Copenhagen Ø Denmark

Fax: +45 45 33 70 01 Website: https://www.who.int/europe

WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION ORGANISATION MONDIALE DE LA SANTÉ

WELTGESUNDHEITSORGANISATION ВСЕМИРНАЯ ОРГАНИЗАЦИЯ ЗДРАВООХРАНЕНИЯ

Date: 5 March 2025

Ms Helen Sõber

Adviser

European Union Affairs and International Co-

operation Department

Ministry of Social Affairs

Suur-Ameerika 1

10122 Tallinn

Estonia

REGIONAL OFFICE FOR EUROPE BUREAU RÉGIONAL DE L’EUROPE

REGIONALBÜRO FÜR EUROPA ЕВРОПЕЙСКОЕ РЕГИОНАЛЬНОЕ БЮРО

Head office:

UN City, Marmorvej 51, DK-2100 Copenhagen Ø, Denmark

Tel.: +45 45 33 70 00; Fax: +45 45 33 70 01

Email: [email protected] Website: https://www.who.int/europe

Our reference: Notre référence: Unser Zeichen: См. наш номер:

Your reference: Votre référence: Ihr Zeichen: На Ваш номер:

Dear Ms Sõber, Technical briefing to WHO European Region Member States:

Hearing Aid Specifications and Quality Standards

Wednesday 26 March 2025 9:30–11:00 CET

The WHO Regional Office for Europe is pleased to host a regional virtual technical briefing to support

informed decision making in selecting, evaluating and procuring quality hearing aids in your national

context. I am delighted to invite you to nominate two representatives from your country to participate in the

technical briefing.

WHO/Europe is providing technical support to Member States towards integrated, people-centred ear and

hearing care. This approach includes access to available, affordable and quality hearing devices, whilst

considering the different models of hearing aid service delivery in the Region. The technical briefing will take

place on Wednesday 26 March 2025 from 9:30 to 11:00 Central European Time. Please find the scope and

purpose of the event, as well as the provisional programme, attached.

The nominated representatives should be officials from the ministries responsible for ear and hearing care,

hearing device and / or assistive technology, should be responsible for assistive technology / hearing device

selection and procurement, quality evaluation and standard setting, and should have the capacity to represent

their organisation and help advance this topic nationally. The presentations will be in English, and simultaneous

Russian interpretation will be provided. Closed captioning will be available during the briefing.

Kindly provide us your two nominations. Please include their names, job titles, organizations, departments and

email addresses, at your earliest convenience and no later than 18 March 2025. Thereafter, we shall

communicate with them directly and share the necessary documentation and administrative information

including the videoconference (Zoom) link to join on the day. Shirin Kiani, Technical Officer, Rehabilitation,

Assistive Technology & Disability Inclusion is responsible for this activity and it would be appreciated if you

would address your reply to her at [email protected] with [email protected] in copy.

Sincerely yours,

Dr Natasha Azzopardi Muscat

Director, Division of Country Health Policies and Systems

– 2 –

Encls:

Scope and Purpose

Provisional Programme

Copy for information to:

Ms Agne Nettan-Sepp, Head, European Union Affairs and International Co-operation Department, Ministry of

Social Affairs, Suur-Ameerika 1, 10129 Tallinn, Estonia

H.E. Ms Riia Salsa-Audiffren, Ambassador Representative of the Republic of Estonia, Permanent Mission of

the Republic of Estonia to the United Nations Office and other international organizations in Geneva, Chemin

du Petit-Saconnex 28A, CH-1209 Genève, Switzerland

H.E. Mr Andre Pung, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, Embassy of the Republic of Estonia,

Frederiksgade 19, 4th floor, 1265 Copenhagen K, Denmark

Ms Kristina Köhler, Liaison Officer, WHO Country Office, Estonia, Paldiski Road 81, 10617 Tallinn, Estonia

Provisional programme - Page 1 of 1

WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION REGIONAL OFFICE FOR EUROPE WELTGESUNDHEITSORGANISATION REGIONALBÜRO FÜR EUROPA

ORGANISATION MONDIALE DE LA SANTÉ BUREAU RÉGIONAL DE L'EUROPE

ВСЕМИРНАЯ ОРГАНИЗАЦИЯ ЗДРАВООХРАНЕНИЯ

ЕВРОПЕЙСКОЕ РЕГИОНАЛЬНОЕ БЮРО

Hearing Aid Specifications and Quality Standards Technical briefing to WHO European Region Member States

/1

Wednesday 26 March 2025 9:30–11:00 CET 1 March 2025 Original: English

Provisional programme

Hearing Aid Specifications and Quality Standards Wednesday 26 March 2025 9:30–11:00 CET

9:30–9:40 Welcome and objectives Shirin Kiani, Technical Officer Health Workforce and Service Delivery Unit WHO Regional Office for Europe

9:40–9:50 Leaving no one behind: Enabling persons with hearing loss to participate fully in society Tomas Zapata, Regional Advisor and Unit Head Health Workforce and Service Delivery Unit WHO Regional Office for Europe

9:50–9:55 The transformative power of access to quality assistive technology TBC ATscale, the global partnership for Assistive Technology, hosted by UNOPS

9:55–10:10 Towards quality assistive products Emma M. Smith, Technical Specialist Health Workforce and Service Delivery Unit WHO Regional Office for Europe

10:10–10:25 International and national quality standards and specifications for hearing aids Ariane Laplante-Lévesque, Technical Specialist Health Workforce and Service Delivery Unit WHO Regional Office for Europe

10:25–10:40 WHO technical support towards quality hearing aids Shelly Chadha, Technical Lead Ear and Hearing Care Programme WHO Headquarters

10:40–11:00 Questions and closure Shirin Kiani, Technical Officer Health Workforce and Service Delivery Unit WHO Regional Office for Europe

Scope and purpose - Page 1 of 2

WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION

REGIONAL OFFICE FOR EUROPE

WELTGESUNDHEITSORGANISATION

REGIONALBÜRO FÜR EUROPA

ORGANISATION MONDIALE DE LA SANTÉ

BUREAU RÉGIONAL DE L'EUROPE

ВСЕМИРНАЯ ОРГАНИЗАЦИЯ ЗДРАВООХРАНЕНИЯ

ЕВРОПЕЙСКОЕ РЕГИОНАЛЬНОЕ БЮРО

Hearing Aid Specifications and Quality Standards

Technical briefing to WHO European Region Member States /1

Wednesday 26 March 2025 9:30–11:00 CET 1 March 2025

Original: English

Scope and purpose

Background

Ear and hearing conditions are extremely common. Globally more than 1.5 billion people

experience some decline in their hearing capacity during their life course, of whom at least 430

million will require suitable rehabilitation such as the use of hearing devices.1

Determining the assistive product and service requirements at the planning stage of a

procurement process is essential to its success. Assistive Product Specifications are minimum

criteria applied during a procurement process. These define the minimum requirements products

should meet to ensure orders from suppliers are adequate to meet the user need. These may

include or be supplemented by quality standards which ensure products meet minimum quality

criteria, including safety, durability, and applicability for the environment. Specifications and

standards play a key role in addressing the need for appropriate assistive products, and when

used correctly, can ensure quality products are entering the market, thus protecting the end-user

and ensuring value. Countries may choose to develop their own specifications and standards, or

may develop specifications based on international specifications and standards including those

available from the WHO,2 the International Standards Organization (ISO), the International

Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) or other relevant standards bodies.

However, on their own, specifications and standards need to be enforced and to be supported

with the staff, resources, means and competencies to verify product compliance both prior to

procurement, and following entry to the market. The development of national Assistive Product

Specifications and quality standards addresses the need to ensure a balance between product

quality and cost, while supporting the health of the assistive technology market within a country,

local production and providers, and limiting unnecessary strain on government budgets.

The WHO Regional Office for Europe has been providing technical support in the procurement

of assistive products, and the setting of specifications and standards for medical products in

selected Member States. Technical support provided so far has focused on assistive products that

1 World Health Organization. 2021. World Report on Hearing. Retrieved from https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/9789240020481

2 World Health Organization. 2021. Assistive product specifications and how to use them. Retrieved from: https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/9789240020283

Scope and purpose - Page 2 of 2

support mobility and self-care. Given the high prevalence of hearing loss, a need was identified

to provide key information specific to hearing aids.

Every year, World Hearing Day is celebrated on 3 March, an opportunity to raise awareness

about access to integrated, people-centred ear and hearing services. Despite the critical role of

hearing aids, only a fraction of those in need have access to them. Access to affordable and

quality hearing aids is essential for promoting independence and participation in society of those

with hearing loss. The WHO Regional Office for Europe is organising a technical briefing on

hearing aid specifications and quality standards following World Hearing Day.

Aim

This technical briefing aims to address the barriers to accessing appropriate hearing aids by

providing the knowledge required for Member States to support informed decision making in

selecting, evaluating and procuring quality hearing aids in their national contexts.

Objectives

• Increase capacity for selecting and procuring quality hearing aids

• Enhance knowledge in evaluating and monitoring hearing aid quality

• Introduce WHO tools that support the procurement of quality hearing aids and/or the

development and implementation of national hearing aid specifications and quality

standards

Date and time

One 90-minute technical briefing will be held virtually. The briefing will take place on

Wednesday 26 March 2025 from 9:30 am to 11:00 am Central European Time.

Participants

Participants will include representatives from relevant ministries of WHO European Region

Member States. Each Member State is invited to nominate up to two participants for the meeting.

Participants are likely to be representatives from health and social ministries and to be

responsible for ear and hearing care, hearing device and / or assistive technology and more

specifically for assistive technology / hearing device procurement, quality evaluation and

standard setting.

Languages and accessibility

The presentations will be provided in English, and simultaneous Russian interpretation will be

provided. Preparatory documents will be available in English and Russian. Closed captioning

will be available during the briefing.