--- title: "How a Global Partnership Improved Members’ Skills and People’s Lives" id: "10532" type: "post" slug: "how-a-global-partnership-improved-members-skills-and-peoples-lives" published_at: "2017-10-06T00:00:00+00:00" modified_at: "2026-03-15T02:49:03+00:00" url: "https://associationsnow.com/2017/10/06/how-a-global-partnership-improved-members-skills-and-peoples-lives/" markdown_url: "https://associationsnow.com/2017/10/06/how-a-global-partnership-improved-members-skills-and-peoples-lives.md" excerpt: "Imagine having trouble hearing others talk. This makes success in school and work more challenging. A person can become withdrawn and feel isolated, in effect cut off from participating in society. Imagine also having problems with speech, being unable to..." taxonomy_category: - "Learning" taxonomy_post_tag: - "ASAEcenter" - "Education Law" - "Employee Training" - "eye health" - "Globalization" taxonomy_content_format: - "Article" taxonomy_role: - "Association CEO / Executive Director" - "Director" - "Executive Team" taxonomy_persona: - "Association Professionals" --- [Home](https://associationsnow.com/) » [Articles](https://associationsnow.com/format/article/) » How a Global Partnership Improved Members’ Skills and People’s Lives Imagine having trouble hearing others talk. This makes success in school and work more challenging. A person can become withdrawn and feel isolated, in effect cut off from participating in society. Imagine also having problems with speech, being unable to express your feelings, opinions, or thoughts. Circumstances like this exist daily in the lives of many people across the globe. And, unfortunately, their situations are often exacerbated by the fact that their countries lack the professionals to provide treatment that can improve their functional communication. This is why the [American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (opens in a new tab)](http://www.asha.org/) (ASHA) and the [Pan American Health Organization (opens in a new tab)](http://www.paho.org/hq/) (PAHO)—the Regional Office for the Americas of the World Health Organization (WHO)—joined forces in 2013. Both groups were looking to strengthen the knowledge of communication disorders and provide education for professionals in universities and clinical organizations to treat communication disorders in selected Latin American countries. ASHA has state-of-the-art resources that are needed in developing countries, while PAHO has offices in almost all Latin American countries and maintains relationships with high-level authorities, including each country’s ministry of health. This enables PAHO to facilitate contacts between ASHA and key stakeholders in the countries selected by the ASHA-PAHO partnership. With the support of the designated ministries of health, ASHA’s volunteer experts assist at all levels by creating curricula for universities and implementing train-the-trainer workshops for service-delivery personnel. Members also educate policymakers and the public on the advantages and societal benefits of creating a cadre of resident audiologists and speech-language pathologists to treat communication disorders. ASHA’s goal in this endeavor is to develop self-sustaining programs in each selected country. > ASHA’s goal in this endeavor is to develop self-sustaining programs in each selected country. After four years, the contributions of ASHA members in the ASHA-PAHO partnership are already visible: - In Honduras, ASHA members [developed a curriculum for a new Phonoaudiology program (opens in a new tab)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P8CvZsQOpKw) (combining audiology and speech-language pathology) at the national university. Thirty-seven students are enrolled; they will also be the program’s first graduates in 2020. - In El Salvador, ASHA members developed a comprehensive educational resource package in Spanish for audiologists. Clinical personnel can now utilize this resource when treating patients. - In Guyana, ASHA experts [facilitated the development of a new audiology and speech-language pathology program (opens in a new tab)](http://leader.pubs.asha.org/article.aspx?articleid=2608171) at the university and recruited faculty in record time. Five students will graduate in 2018; they already have guaranteed jobs. These newly educated professionals will fill a critical need; currently, there are no speech-language pathologists and only one audiologist working in the country. - In Paraguay, ASHA members developed and conducted train-the-trainer workshops. Thirty-four participants attended each workshop, including phonoaudiologists, special education personnel, psychologists, and parents of children with communication disorders. Additionally, a national network on WhatsApp was started to exchange information about communication disorders. These are examples of how the ASHA-PAHO partnership positively affects persons with communication disorders in Latin America. This partnership also [provides benefits to ASHA members. (opens in a new tab)](http://www.asha.org/Members/international/PAHO/) Since many ASHA members are interested in volunteering and working abroad, the partnership has created opportunities for them to strengthen the knowledge and clinical skills of local professionals in resource-limited countries. It’s also helped members develop tools to assist local professionals and para-professionals to meet the needs of individuals with communication disorders. These initiatives are highly valued and increase access to centralized expertise where services are limited (e.g., in rural areas). The commitment of ASHA members to assist in the selected countries through the ASHA-PAHO partnership has been remarkable. Many ASHA members have chosen to continue collaborating with colleagues in these countries over the long term. They are mentoring students, facilitating donations of books and other resources, providing introductions to faculty at U.S. university programs, and more. They are also actively publishing articles and making presentations at national and international conferences. ASHA has also benefited from the partnership. It now has official status with PAHO as a nongovernmental organization, and ASHA is an invited observer to PAHO and high-level WHO meetings. There, ASHA advocates for the professions of audiology and speech-language pathology worldwide. The ASHA-PAHO strategic partnership effectively combines the strengths of these two organizations to make significant contributions to the health and productivity of people in the selected countries. It is enabling ASHA to meet its strategic objective of enhancing international engagement and is helping [PAHO and WHO to meet their global goal (opens in a new tab)](http://www.who.int/disabilities/actionplan/en/) : “Better Health for All People With Disability.” [Lily Waterston](https://associationsnow.com/author/lily-waterston/) Lily Waterston, MA, is director, international programs, at the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association in Rockville, Maryland. 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