Conceptual framework for establishing the African Stroke Organization.

Africa is the world's most genetically diverse, second largest, and second most populous continent, with over one billion people distributed across 54 countries. With a 23% lifetime risk of stroke, Africa has some of the highest rates of stroke worldwide and many occur in the prime of life with huge economic losses and grave implications for the individual, family, and the society in terms of mental capital, productivity, and socioeconomic progress. Tackling the escalating burden of stroke in Africa requires prioritized, multipronged, and inter-sectoral strategies tailored to the unique African epidemiological, cultural, socioeconomic, and lifestyle landscape. The African Stroke Organization (ASO) is a new pan-African coalition that brings together stroke researchers, clinicians, and other health-care professionals with participation of national and regional stroke societies and stroke support organizations. With a vision to reduce the rapidly increasing burden of stroke in Africa, the ASO has a four-pronged focus on (1) research, (2) capacity building, (3) development of stroke services, and (4) collaboration with all stakeholders. This will be delivered through advocacy, awareness, and empowerment initiatives to bring about people-focused changes in policy, clinical practice, and public education. In the spirit of the African philosophy of Ubuntu "I am because we are," the ASO will harness the power of diversity, inclusiveness, togetherness, and team work to build a strong, enduring, and impactful platform for tackling stroke in Africa.

Typology and interventions for some social problems affecting the learning of the hearing-impaired child.

Discussions centring on social factors in the learning of school children with hearing disability usually present a double-jeopardy trend. Firstly, the hearing-impaired child suffers from social behaviour disorders which are direct or indirect consequences of their hearing disability. Secondly, the same child is also prone to social problems that are common to all children (with or without disabilities). The hearing-impaired child, therefore, presents two orders of social problem in the classroom--general and specific social problems. This development usually makes the hearing-disabled child a social risk in the classroom twice that of their hearing classmates. This paper therefore attempted to address the following issues: (1) identify the types of general and specific social problems of the hearing-disabled school child; (2) establish the patterns of these problems; and (3) proffer some intervention strategies required for managing those problems so that the child can learn meaningfully in the school.

Coping mechanisms of some blind trainees engaging in agricultural rehabilitation in a Nigerian training centre for the blind.

This study was conducted to assess the coping mechanisms of some blind trainees engaged in agricultural activities at the Nigeria Training Centre for the Blind, Ogbomoso, Oyo State, Nigeria. The participants in this study were blind trainees and agricultural inspectors. Focus group discussions were used to elicit their feelings concerning their coping mechanisms with agricultural activities at the centre. In addition, a practical session, and participatory observation, was carried out to examine the trainees and their reactions to the agricultural training programmes. Findings revealed that the blind trainees could effectively undertake farming activities despite their disability. It was, however, noted that the facilities for agricultural training programme in the centre are not inadequate. Moreover, the study further discovered that the number of blind persons seeking agricultural training was far less than the expected intake for the centre. There were also more male than female trainees in the centre. Based on the findings, recommendations were made to improve the farming training programme for blind trainees at the centre. More facilities should be provided and efforts made to encourage more blind persons to use the centre. This will discourage begging and dependence, activities often engaged in by blind persons who have not been rehabilitated.