Speech and language therapy – a huge but unmet need

Speech and Language Therapy (SALT) is a profession recognised around the world for supporting people who have difficulties with communication and swallowing. Speech and language therapists diagnose and treat communication disorders in children and adults. Treatment includes speech, language, voice and fluency therapy and nonverbal, multi-modal communication supports (e.g. picture systems, sign languages, alternative and augmentative communication), swallowing, eating and drinking.

From November 2017 to end of January 2018, under the Project “Development of Speech and Language Therapy Education in Vietnam” by MCNV and VietHealth funded by USAID, MCNV and Trinh Foundation Australia collaborated to carry out an assessment of the speech and language therapy training needs in Vietnam. The key findings from the assessment were that there is a large, documented need for speech and language therapy services for all types of communication and swallowing disorders across all age groups but the need is not met, and that demand for human resources for speech and language therapy is increasing rapidly across regions and environments.

The assessment was done in eight provinces, including: Hanoi, Quang Nam, Da Nang, Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC), Hue, Dong Nai, Bin Phuoc and Hai Duong.

On 4/4/2018, MCNV and its project partners organized a workshop to share the results of the assessment.

(Ông Phạm Dũng – Giám đốc quốc gia MCNV tại Việt Nam và TS. Lê Văn Nho – Phó hiệu trưởng trường Đại học Kỹ thuật Y Dược Đà Nẵng – ký kết Biên bản Ghi nhớ Hợp tác)

(Ông Phạm Dũng – Giám đốc quốc gia MCNV tại Việt Nam và PGS.TS Đỗ Văn Dũng – Phó hiệu trưởng Đại học Y Dược Tp. Hồ Chí Minh – ký kết Biên bản Ghi nhớ Hợp tác)