About Oír Para Crecer (OPC)
Oír Para Crecer (OPC) is a non-profit association based in Lima dedicated to promoting hearing health in children and adults through prevention, diagnosis, and timely treatment. Its goal is to achieve the universal inclusion of people with hearing loss in society. HTWF has been supporting the interdisciplinary team since 2016. The organization also works in partnership with the Canadian-based non-profit, World Wide Hearing (WWH). OPC aims to scale access to hearing care for the low-income population of Peru and further strengthen the quality and sustainability of its services.
The project provides consistent services across the entire care continuum (screenings, diagnostics, fitting, auditory habilitation, family support, and capacity building for local teams). The local team focuses on capacity and collaboration building to gradually extend its services from the capital Lima to the provinces. This allows OPC to reach a higher number of children in need in more rural areas. It also uses data collection methods to systematically advocate for the importance of integrating hearing health care services within the public system.
Project objectives
- Sustainably scale pediatric hearing aid fittings to total 3,410 over three years (2024-2027)
- Develop an audiological model of care services to be replicated in other regions of Peru
- Screen 30,250 children and newborns at multiple locations over three years
- Launch the first university audiology program in Peru and graduate an initial class of 15 audiology students
- Launch an early intervention neonatal screening program in Lima and other provinces
