South Asia
Two thirds of the world’s poorest people live in Asia. India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Nepal are home to almost 500 million people living on less than $1 a day. For poor people in these countries, deaf children are often not a priority. According to the WHO research published in 2005, there are 278 million people in the world with a moderate to severe hearing loss and the majority of them live in South Asia. Deaf Child Worldwide is working to make sure deaf children in the region have a voice and are able to access their rights and have a fulfilling role to play in society.
Deaf Child Worldwide began working in India through our Small Grants Programme and now support regional programmes there as well as in Sri Lanka, Nepal and Bangladesh.
India
We have been working in India since 2003 and are currently developing activities in Karnataka and West Bengal. In February 2009, we started a multi state DFID funded project with our new partner Sanchar, working in West Bengal, Assam, Madhya Pradesh and Orissa. India is Deaf Child Worldwide's largest country programme and our presence really is needed as it is estimated that there are over 3.6 million deaf children in India below the age of 15 yrs.
