South African Speech-Language-Hearing Association (SASLHA)

The South African Speech-Language-Hearing Association (SASLHA) is the professional association representing speech-language therapists and audiologists in South Africa, and it plays a role in promoting these allied health professions and supporting the students entering them.

Through its Myrtle L Aron Bursary Fund, SASLHA offers an annual bursary to third- or fourth-year students who have successfully completed their second or third year of study toward a Speech-Language Therapy and/or Audiology qualification at a South African university, with free SASLHA membership required to apply. Awards are made on a combination of academic merit and financial need, reflecting the association's motivation to widen access to two costly, highly specialised allied health degrees for students from disadvantaged backgrounds who might otherwise struggle to complete them. Speech-language therapy and audiology are recognised scarce skills within South Africa's healthcare system, and growing the number of qualified practitioners serves both the profession's own sustainability and the public's access to hearing and communication healthcare services. As the sector's professional body, SASLHA also sets ethical and clinical standards for practising members, so its bursary functions as an extension of that broader mandate to grow and safeguard the profession, not a standalone philanthropic gesture. Publicly available SASLHA material does not describe any formal work-back or bonded service obligation attached to the bursary; it is structured as a merit- and needs-based award through the professional body rather than an employer-linked scholarship.