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World Hearing Forum

Support the Forum

A global network, run entirely by volunteers

The World Hearing Forum is not a standalone organisation. It has no staff, no office and no bank account. Everything it does is done by people from its member organisations, in time their employers give and time they give themselves.

That is a strength. It is also a limit. When a workstream needs to translate materials, film a story or bring a member from Kampala to Geneva, someone has to pay for it. The Forum welcomes support for that work, channelled through its member organisations.

See how to help
An audiologist fits headphones on a child during a community hearing screening while the child’s mother watches.

Where help makes the difference

  • World Hearing Day

    World Hearing Day, everywhere

    Small grants so members in low-resource settings can run screenings and school visits on 3 March, and translations of campaign materials into more languages.

  • Changemakers

    Changemaker stories on film

    Short films that put people living with hearing loss, and the professionals who work with them, in front of new audiences.

  • Make Listening Safe

    Safe listening campaigns

    Materials, youth-led social content and workshops that take the WHO-ITU safe listening standards to venues, schools and manufacturers.

  • External Relations

    Reaching beyond hearing care

    Presence at conferences in education, ageing, workplace safety and technology, where hearing care is decided without hearing specialists present.

  • Member Engagement

    Getting members in the room

    Travel support so members from low- and middle-income countries can attend the Members and Stakeholders Meeting in Geneva.

  • Funded to 2029

    A digital home

    This website: build, hosting, security and a monthly publishing cycle. Funded through a member organisation until 2029.

Support World Hearing Day today

Small grants that put 3 March on the ground

The World Hearing Forum and the Coalition for Global Hearing Health run a small grants programme for World Hearing Day. Grants of up to US$ 800 pay for screenings, school visits, radio slots and community events run by member organisations, most of them in low- and middle-income countries. In 2025, 33 organisations in around 20 countries received a grant.

Donations and sponsorship for the grants are received and administered by the Coalition for Global Hearing Health, which also runs worldhearingday.org.

2025 grants funded by

World Health Organization · Coalition for Global Hearing Health · AG Bell · CIICA · European Hearing Instrument Manufacturers Association

Sponsor or donate via worldhearingday.orgSee the 2025 grant recipients

No budget? Support costs nothing when you sign the petition to make World Hearing Day a UN International Day. About the campaign.

Three ways in

  1. 1

    Sponsor a project

    Fund a defined piece of work with a clear budget and outcome, delivered by a member organisation: a film, a translation set, a grant round.

  2. 2

    Give expertise in kind

    Design, film-making, translation, legal review, event space or engineering time. Most of what the Forum needs is skill rather than cash.

  3. 3

    Host and convene

    Bring the Forum into your own events and networks, or host a regional meeting for members in your part of the world.

Five principles

  1. 01

    Through members, never around them

    The Forum is not a legal entity and holds no funds. Support is received and administered by a member organisation that takes responsibility for delivery.

  2. 02

    Approved by the co-chairs

    Every arrangement is agreed with the steering committee before anything is announced. Anything that names the Forum or WHO is approved in advance.

  3. 03

    No endorsement

    Support does not imply WHO endorsement of any organisation or product, and gives no supporter rights over the Forum’s content or agenda.

  4. 04

    In the open

    Supporters are recognised publicly. What was given, for what, and by whom is a matter of record.

  5. 05

    Consistent with WHO’s rules

    Support follows WHO’s Framework of Engagement with Non-State Actors. Organisations whose activities conflict with public health goals cannot support the Forum.

Want to support the Forum?

Write to the Forum secretariat with what you have in mind. The steering committee will pair you with the workstream and member organisation best placed to deliver it.

Email whf@who.int