Over 430 million people require rehabilitation to address their hearing loss, of whom 34 million are children. In addition, over 1 billion young people are at risk of hearing loss due to exposure to noise in recreational settings and through personal audio devices. These numbers are expected to rise considerably in the coming decades unless action is taken to prevent and address hearing loss.
The World Hearing Forum is filling a critical gap by bringing a collective vision to advocacy and collaboration in this field. It is a global network of stakeholders promoting ear and hearing care worldwide.
The in-person meeting is hosted once every two years. The 2026 meeting will update stakeholders on WHO's latest work, explore responses to a shifting global health landscape, and strengthen partnerships for action and advocacy.
The meeting will be conducted in English with captioning available.
Participation is by invitation only.
Participants include:
- World Hearing Forum members
- Representatives from ministries of health
- Representation from permanent missions in Geneva
- Key stakeholders including representatives of professional associations, nongovernmental organizations, academic institutions and publications, user groups, and private sector entities.
- Stakeholders from related health areas including child health, youth, and adolescent health, digital health, rehabilitation
- WHO representatives from headquarters, regional, and country offices
- Representatives of other United Nations agencies
If you are a member and have not received the save-the-date, please contact us at whf@who.int