Kigali, 17 February 2005 -- The Health Minister of Rwanda, Dr Jean Damascène Ntawukuliryayo, today opened the first ever high-level forum on oral health in the country. 

Opening a workshop on oral health Thursday in Kigali, Dr Ntawukuliryayo said: "In elaborating our strategic plan for the next five years, my ministry gives a high priority to the management of non-communicable diseases, including oral health. In fact, in Rwanda oral health is a public health concern according to oral health needs expressed by the population". 

The World Health Organization Regional Office for Africa (WHO/AFRO) and the FDI World Dental Federation are jointly organising this workshop which brings together members of the dental profession, government officials, and oral health and policy experts.

Dr Ntawukuliryayo added: "I am confident that the high level of expertise of those participating in this meeting, will deliver a plan which takes into account the context of our country and the need to integrate oral health into the overall health system. I value the partnership between my country, WHO/AFRO and FDI."

Speaking on the occasion, Prof Martin Hobdell, the FDI health policy expert facilitating the meeting, stated that "Good oral health is a basic human right and it is important for countries to integrate appropriate oral care in their primary health care systems." In her remarks, the WHO Advisor for Oral Health in the African Region, Dr Charlotte Ndiaye, said: "We are pleased to be joining forces with the FDI World Dental Federation in supporting this important process of policy formulation in Rwanda within the regional oral health strategy of WHO/AFRO. Collaborative actions between our two organisations have always produced positive results in improving oral health among people in the African region."

The two-day workshop is expected to come up with recommendations to address the oral health challenges of Rwanda where the dentist-population ratio is less than 1:800,000, and the distance people have to travel to get a dental care is at average 300 km; two thirds of the population have no access to oral health care at all.

This meeting is also a sequel to the international conference on oral health in the African Region jointly organised by the FDI World Dental Federation and WHO from 14 - 16 April 2004 in Nairobi, Kenya. That conference adopted the landmark Nairobi Declaration on Oral Health, the highlights of which include emphasis on appropriate oral health programmes in Africa, a commitment to general and oral health as a basic human rights as well as the need for the integration of oral health within general health programmes.

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