ISLAMABAD - Pakistan Bait-ul-Mal (PBM) spent Rs 31 million on conducting cochlear implant surgeries of the speaking and hearing impaired 31 deserving children from October 2019 to June 2020.
According to PBM’s annual report of 2019-20, the cochlear implant operations were started in October 2019. Some 334 children had already been registered for surgeries and 501 cases of cochlear implant surgeries were still in process.
A cochlear implant was a small electronic device that electrically stimulates the cochlear nerve (nerve for hearing) to help someone with hearing loss restore or improve the ability to hear and understand speech.
The poor and deserving can apply PBM online for having the cochlear implants surgeries.The application were forwarded to Medical Board for consideration and proceeding. If accepted and approved then the official from PBM contacts the deserving accordingly.
Pakistan Bait-ul-Mal (PBM) had already inked agreements with government and private hospitals for conducting cochlear implant operations on sharing basis under public private partnership.
A cochlear implant costs Rs 1.6 million plus. According to the agreement inked with the private hospitals, PBM pays Rs 1 million for each cochlear implant surgery while the remaining Rs 500,000 plus were being paid by the respective hospitals.