UPESI: Swahili translation of the FAST acronym for stroke awareness campaigns in East Africa.

Introduction: Despite stroke being a leading cause of death and disability in sub-Saharan Africa, stroke awareness remains a major hurdle to early stroke response and care in the region. To improve stroke awareness, we endeavoured to borrow a leaf from initiatives in high-income countries, beginning with the translation and dissemination of the acronym, FAST (Face, Arms, Speech, Time) to Swahili.

Methods: We formed a translation group consisting of two stroke physicians, one nurse and two professional translators, all native Swahili speakers.