This spring, the Ministry of Health of Ukraine launched the first official training programme for speech and language therapists (SLTs), which we at Enabel were proud to support.
This July, over 20 specialists successfully completed the programme, becoming Ukraine's first SLTs with professional qualifications. Until now, this role was carried out by education professionals.

A speech and language therapist works with the full spectrum of communication disorders and plays a vital role in multidisciplinary rehabilitation teams. SLTs help with combat-related stuttering, post-stroke communication disorders, and language decline in dementia.

The programme lasted four months, with over 90 hours of clinical practice. Training for future specialists was delivered by qualified SLTs from various countries, including Belgium. One of the lecturers was Professor Ingeborg Simpelaere, Head of the Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology bachelor programme at VIVES.

The training was held at the Bogomolets National Medical University and the Ivano-Frankivsk National Medical University.

The graduates are now qualified to teach on university programmes for future SLT specialists. The next milestone is the launch of a dedicated master's programme.

The programme is being implemented by the Ministry of Health with financial and organisational support from Enabel and programme support from the Ukrainian Society of Speech and Language Therapy together with the War Trauma Rehabilitation initiative managed by the Patients of Ukraine foundation, and in partnership with the Ukrainian-Swiss project “Medical Education Development".

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