Summary

This investigation was made in the following eleven countries: Burundi, Rwanda, South Africa, Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger, Democratic Republic of Congo Congo, Tchad, Togo, Tanzania, and Central Africa Republic

The results from these eleven countries were:

There are 67 therapists that treat stuttering for 2,511,360 people who stutter, or one therapist for 37,483 people who stutter.

• In 59 countries in Africa, there are about 28% that have a support organization for people who stutter in their country.
• Of the 11 countries, which have 232,088,330 inhabitants, there are only eleven institutions that provide courses on the treatment of stuttering.
• Using the universally accepted incidence rates of stuttering (1 percent of the population), there are 2,511,360 people who stutter in these eleven countries with a total of 16 clinics that provide treatment for stuttering, or one clinic for every 156,960 clients.
• In 2010, there were 728 persons who received therapy for stuttering, in contrast of the potential of 2,511,360 who could benefit from therapy.
• Extrapolating the number of people who could benefit from therapy and the number of opportunities for therapy, with the current situation, it would take 3410 years to meet the needs of the people who stutter in these 11 countries.

Introduction

Using the universally accepted incidence of stuttering, Africa, a continent with a population currently estimated at approximately one billion people and has a population of approximately 10 million people who stutter.

People in Africa are not sufficiently informed about stuttering. Because of this lack of information, people who stutter are mocked and humiliated. There is also little information about any appropriate treatment for stuttering which causes many people who stutter in Africa either to resort to what is called "traditional therapy" which uses methods that are sometimes very dangerous.

Objective of this report

The objective of this study is to sensitize people about stuttering in Africa and to develop a strategy to address the problems.

Methodology

Questions were developed to explore therapy for stuttering in Africa. The answers were obtained by members of stuttering support organizations in eleven countries and speech therapists.

The study focused on five points.

1. To discover the percentage of countries in Africa having an organization, association, or self-help group for people who stutter.
2. To discover the number of universities or other institutions training people about treatment for stuttering.
3. To discover the number of clinics available to treat stuttering
4. To discover the number of clinicians who treat stuttering.
5. To discover the number of people who stutter receiving therapy in the year studied.

Description of the sample

People in 11 countries, representing North, South, Central, West and East Africa were questioned. These 11 countries represent 16 percent of the African continent which consists of 59 countries. There are approximately 232,088,330 people in these four countries, representing 28 percent of the population of Africa. Using the universally accepted rate of one percent of the population stutters, there are approximately 2,511,360 people who stutter in these 11 countries.

The countries in Africa having an organization for people who stutter Although there are 59 countries in Africa, currently there are only 23 countries (40 percent) that have an organization, association or self-help group for people who stutter. In Mauritius, the members of their self-help association disbanded their association in June 2010.

The countries that currently have an organization, association or self-help group for people who stutter: Burundi, Rwanda, South Africa, Zambia, Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger, Democratic Republic of Congo Congo, Tchad, Togo, Uganda, Kenya, Ethiopia, Sudan, Cameroon, Ivoir Coast, Congo, Gabon, Ghana, Nigeria, Senegal, Benin, Equatorial Guinea.

The table below shows the results received from the 11 African countries studied: Burundi, Rwanda, South Africa, Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger, Democratic Republic of Congo Congo, Tchad, Togo, Tanzania, and Central Africa Republic.

Institutions training people to deliver treatment for stuttering Results of the study of these 11 countries in Africa that have a population of 251.1 million inhabitants, there are 11 institutions that train people to deliver treatment for stuttering. Of the 11 institutions, 10 are in South Africa, which reflects about 91 percent of the training institutions. Nine of the countries surveyed had no training institution for treatment of stuttering.

Clinics that provide therapy for stuttering

There are currently only 16 clinics that deliver therapy for stuttering in the 11 surveyed countries. With 2,511,360 people who stutter in these countries, each clinic, on the average, would treat 156,960 clients. The figure below shows the number of clinics by country.

Therapists that provide therapy for stuttering

In the 11 African countries surveyed, there are a total of 67 therapists that treat stuttering. With 2,511,360 people who stutter in these countries, there would be one therapist for 27,483 clients. The figure below shows the number of therapists by country.

People who stutter receiving therapy for stuttering in 2010

There were 726 people who stutter receiving therapy in 2010 of a potential total 2,511,360 people who stutter that had need of therapy. Using the information uncovered in this survey it will take 3410 years to provide therapy to all the people who could benefit from it. The figure below demonstrates the number of people receiving therapy in 2010 in the 11 countries surveyed.

In Burkina Faso, 20 people who stutter received therapy from students from France in a program called ORTHOFASO.

In Rwanda, 6 people who stutter received therapy in conjunction with a program from Florida Atlantic University Department of Communication Disorders called "Distance Stuttering Therapy with Rwanda."

Conclusion

The problem of stuttering in Africa deserves attention and should be taken seriously. It is hoped that the information from this survey may be used to encourage the World Health Organization (WHO) to professionally research the situation of people who stutter in developing countries in order to provide a solution.

-Discussion-