Launch of WHO-ITU global standard for safe listening devices

Launch of WHO-ITU global standard for safe listening devices

14 February 2019 - WHO HQ, Geneva, Switzerland

Mr Director-General, Dr. Tedros,
WHO colleagues,
Ladies and gentlemen,

What brings us here together is one of life’s most precious gifts - our hearing. But hearing is a fragile gift. And, as we have heard, the risks posed to young people’s hearing from playing music too loud on smartphones and other devices is serious and one we can all relate to. I myself have two young grandchildren playing in their school rock band, and having a device to provide warning if there is a risk of injury will be welcomed by everyone.

The ITU standard and its implementation toolkit we are launching today will provide this for the first time making listening safe for everyone. Governments, industry and civil society have a critical role to play in the implementation of this standard and the toolkit.

Every ITU standard relies on the participation of key stakeholders and we benefit considerably through having a large private sector membership - over 600 private sector companies, including the top players in the industry, as well as research institutes and universities. Without these players we could not produce these types of standards. And with the technology moving into so many different sectors, ITU is continually reaching out to develop new partnerships to take full benefit. Our role is to ensure we have interoperable standards that can be used worldwide which also brings down costs through economies of scale.

This is why ITU joined forces with WHO last July to launch a new initiative to leverage the power of artificial intelligence for health. In an area marked by a lack of interoperability, the objective is to develop international “AI for health” standards addressing health issues spanning from breast cancer to Alzheimer’s disease to autism. And the participation of ITU private sector members will be essential.

The demand for this platform was first identified last May at the second edition of ITU’s AI for Good Global Summit in Geneva. As the lead UN agency for information and communication technologies, ITU is promoting the inclusive dialogue necessary to ensure that artificial intelligence proves a force for good. Last year’s summit spawned more than 30 pioneering project proposals to accelerate progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals. We look forward to welcoming you to ITU’s headquarters in Geneva for this year’s event which will be held 28-31 May. It is free of charge and all interested are welcome.

A new ITU Focus Group on AI for Health is a great example of what multi-stakeholder partnerships can achieve with researchers, engineers, practitioners, entrepreneurs and policy makers working together to develop international standards and save lives. Again all stakeholders are welcome – you don’t even need to be an ITU member.

So today, ITU is proud to join WHO in launching this new global standard for safe listening devices and its implementation toolkit, thanks WHO for its cooperation and we look forward to developing more standards together in the future to improve people’s health around the world.

Thank you.