The concepts embodied in the
International Humanitarian Hearing Aid Purchasing Program
have a long history and have existed in many names and forms.
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1995 – 2002: Assistive Devices for the Hearing Impaired (ADHI) was founded and directed by Ron Brouillette. This project was funded by Christian Blinden Mission (CBM). Three hundred and fifty (350) hearing aids kits were purchased, assembled in the Philippines and distributed these worldwide.
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2003 – 2009: Affordable Hearing was also founded and directed by Ron Brouilette. Hearing aids assembled in Viet Nam and India were distributed by a direct factory wholesale cooperative to humanitarian groups.
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2009 – 2011: Worldwide Hearing (WWH) adopted the goal of providing affordable hearing aids to the world’s poor and named the program the Purchasing Consortium. Executive committee liaison Seema Shah and Ron Brouilette propose a structure and formulate agreements with two existing hearing aid manufacturers.
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April 2011: WWH elects to pursue an alternative distribution model and withdraws from the Purchasing Consortium
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2011 – 2012: Ron Brouilette and Debra Fried manage the Purchasing Consortium independently.
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February 2012: Mayflower Medical Outreach takes on the administration of the enterprise with the support of the Coalition for Global Hearing Health (CGHH) renames it the International Humanitarian Hearing Aid Purchasing Program (IHHAPP). A website is launched; the application process formalized, and surcharge system instated to provide for a sustainable model.
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2023: A new website is launched. Three manufacturers are participating in the IHHAPP.
