People with hearing and speech impairments face significant challenges when trying to communicate directly with doctors. This communication barrier has many consequences, including the loss of confidentiality between patients and physicians. To address these issues, they are urging hospitals and health centers to employ medical staff trained in sign language.
Many individuals we spoke with shared similar concerns:
“If the person accompanying you to the doctor knows sign language, they can explain how you are sick. Otherwise, at the hospital, they call any available medical staff member to interpret what you are saying. In that case, there is no medical confidentiality for us because we have to go through a third person.”
Niyonsenga Daniel, 36, recounted his experience:
“Finding doctors who know sign language is like winning the lottery. This situation causes some patients to stay home because they know they will struggle to make themselves understood. Others don’t want everyone to know what they are suffering from because, often, to get treatment, the doctor calls the first available person to translate. Sometimes the translator does not fully understand sign language, and you end up being prescribed medication that doesn’t match your illness. We want healthcare providers to know this language.”
Safari William, Inclusive Education Project Manager at the Rwanda National Union of the Disabled Organizations (NUDOR), also emphasized:
“Because I must be accompanied, it is my companion who explains my illness during the consultation, and also the one who reads the prescription, because it is not written in a format accessible to me. Doctors should learn sign language, and prescriptions should be written in a format that is also accessible to people with visual impairments.”
On a positive note, progress is being made. Julien Mahoro, spokesperson for the Ministry of Health, explained:
“To ensure that there is someone who can use sign language in healthcare facilities, we decided it was best to train professionals already working there. This allows them to communicate directly with patients and provide quality service while respecting medical confidentiality. Currently, around 850 nurses have completed this training, and we intend to continue until every hospital and health center has staff with this skill.”
He also expressed gratitude to the media for their role in advocacy to ensure healthcare services are accessible to all, in line with the Ministry’s goal: “Leave no one behind.”
According to the World Health Organization, 15% of the world’s population lives with a disability. In Rwanda, official figures indicate 446,453 people with disabilities, the majority of whom have physical impairments.
By Emma-Marie
