Mr Noweed Ahmad received a call in early 2012 from the International Medical Relief Agency (IMRA), a UK-based charity providing medical care to individuals from underprivileged countries. The charity needed an ENT (ear, nose and throat) specialist who would help them set up a cochlear implant programme, treating children born deaf in underprivileged or developing countries.

IMRA approached Mr Ahmad, who was then in Australia, for his help after being turned down by other specialists, owing to the massive costs and time commitments required for the project.

A single cochlear implant costs around £20,000 and needs a dedicated team of healthcare professionals – which is a scarce resource in countries with poor health infrastructure and acute health inequalities.

The 48-year-old initially thought the programme may be unrealistic but decided to give it a try as he was aware that deafness leads to an inability to communicate verbally – a life-changing disability.

So, he started by developing a group of dedicated audiologists and speech therapists and acquired specialist equipment with IMRA.

After much hard work and deliberations, Mr Ahmad flew to Karachi, Pakistan in December 2012 and performed the first free cochlear implant operations on two patients as part of his humanitarian mission.

Since then, Mr Ahmad, who works as a consultant ENT at The James Cook University Hospital, has conducted more than 170 cochlear implant surgeries – helping to restore hearing and allowing children to develop speech.

He said: “I know how devastating the effect of deafness can be for children in the developing world. They are considered to be not only deaf and incapable of speech, but mentally disabled – which is simply incorrect – and are excluded from relationships and sections of society.

“All that potential is wasted if their deafness cannot be treated in time, normally by age five, as they become isolated and their potential unrecognised.

“Their life can change completely through a cochlear implant, which allows them to hear, then develop speech and be considered full members of society, being able to communicate and get educated.”

Moreover, Noweed uses his annual leave to jet off to different parts of the world to conduct specialist ear operations for patients who would otherwise potentially die of complications in places like Somalia. 

In 2022, the Yarm resident’s humanitarian mission reached a new milestone where he performed the world’s first bilateral humanitarian cochlear implant on an underprivileged child in Pakistan – free of cost.

Reflecting upon his experience and how he envisions a world where every deaf child in the world can access the gift of hearing and speech, Noweed said: “We are incredibly lucky to have cochlear implants funded by taxpayers in the NHS.

“However, not many can receive such life-changing treatment in other countries. Our humanitarian cochlear implant programme aims to give the gift of hearing and speech to some of the poorest children in the world.

“The families who undergo surgery and receive post-op care are so poor that they cannot often afford the taxi fare to the hospital, never mind a £20,000 implant.

“The charity (IMRA) decided to try starting a cochlear implant programme when a father said that even if he sold everything he owned, including his motorcycle and wife's jewellery, he still could not afford even a quarter of the implant for his deaf child.”

Noweed’s humanitarian mission has received recognition from his colleagues and peers and the trust supports him by allowing up to five days of extra professional leave for such operations.

Moreover, the trust donates unused stock such as cochlear implant accessories and IMRA utilises it to share the gift of hearing with deaf children.

“It is amazing how a one-hour operation can be so utterly life-changing for these children in poverty-stricken countries,” added Mr Ahmad.