In 2020, USAID supported disability screening and examination campaigns that targeted children under 6 in Tay Ninh, Dong Nai and Binh Phuoc provinces, diagnosing approximately 1,500 out of 205,000 children tested with different needs for speech therapy, indicating a growing demand for speech language pathologists. To help address this demand, USAID’s Disabilities Integration of Services and Therapies Network for Capacity and Treatment, and Hold My Hands project organized a 10-month program on speech and language therapies for 42 local staff from provincial, and district hospitals and disability schools in project sites of Binh Dinh, Quang Nam, Tay Ninh, Dong Nai and Binh Phuoc provinces. Despite the challenges of COVID-19, all participants managed to follow the course and successfully completed this training program. On October 29, a virtual graduation ceremony was organized for these participants, who are now applying their new skills at hospitals and schools to provide appropriate speech therapy services.
USAID’s support to improve speech therapy in particular and rehabilitation services in general will increase service accessibility for persons in need as well as improve the quality of those services, which will help improve quality of life and social integration for persons with disabilities.
