Nairobi, 15 April 2004 -- African countries have been urged to prioritize oral health and increase budgetary allocations to their oral health programmes. Making the call Wednesday in Nairobi at the start of a three-day conference on oral health in Africa, Kenya's Health Minister, Mrs Charity Ngilu, said, "the problem (posed by oral diseases in Africa) is compounded by the fact that budgetary allocations to oral health programmes have been minimal."

She illustrated the inadequate attention paid to oral health in the region with her country where, she said, "the allocation to dental health care is 0.0016% of the total health budget."

Mrs Ngilu stated that although most oral diseases were preventable, there were very few active oral health education and prevention programmes in the region. "Yet, such programmes are cheap and hold the key to reduced prevalence of oral diseases," she said.

The minister called for a critical review of oral health care delivery theories and practices, and the firm entrenchment of oral health in the health care delivery systems of countries in the region.

She exhorted participants in the conference, the first of its kind to be held in Africa, to come up with suggestions which would lay the foundation for the development, improvement and coordination of oral health care in the region.

Addressing the conference, the WHO Regional Director for Africa, Dr Ebrahim Samba, said that the collaboration between WHO and FDI World Dental Federation in organizing the conference demonstrated the role and power of partnerships in tackling health challenges.

He stated that the presence at the conference of 43 delegations from the WHO African Region signalled a new awakening to the importance of oral health, and the determination by African governments to face up to the challenges it poses.

The conference was also attended by 12 delegates from WHO's Eastern Mediterranean Region, and was co-organised and supported by WHO's Geneva-headquartered Global Oral Health Programme, which has developed a number of technical documents and actions to address the growing burden of oral diseases worldwide. "The importance of oral health has been raised considerably during this meeting and such a platform for policy development could be instrumental in responding to the oral health problem in other regions," said Dr Poul Erik Petersen, Coordinator, Oral Health Programme, WHO/HQ.

Dr Samba also pledged WHO's continued technical and other support to Member States countries in implementing proven interventions.

In his remarks, the President of FDI World Dental Federation, Dr H.R. Yoon, re-iterated that oral health is part and parcel of systemic health--both of which transcend national boundaries and call for global cooperation.

The conference, he said, was part of the joint activities outlined in the joint WHO/FDI activities outlined in a three-year work plan which aims, among other things, to: link general and oral health; raise awareness of the inequalities in oral health and oral health care; increase the number of functioning national oral health strategies; provide examples of ways to finance oral health care; develop private-public partnerships; improve oral health in the African Region, and agree recommendations that will improve oral health care and the equal delivery of oral health care.

"The future is in our hands", Dr Yoon added. "The fact that we are here to learn and to share knowledge and information shows that we all support and have a serious commitment to oral health in the African Region."

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