(SINL NIGERIA) The World Health Organization (WHO) has revealed that oral diseases, including dental caries, gum disease, tooth loss and the devastating condition noma, affected 42% of global population in 2021.
According to WHO these conditions cause pain, disability and avoidable suffering, while placing sustained pressure on families, communities and health systems.
WHO Regional Director for Africa, Dr Mohamed Janabi made this known in a message to commemorate World Oral Health Day 2026.
He said “On World Oral Health Day 2026, we turn our attention to a silent but widespread health challenge affecting communities across the WHO African Region.
“Oral diseases are among the most common and preventable health conditions, yet they remain one of the most neglected areas of public health.
He added “recognizing this burden, member States endorsed the WHO African Regional Framework on Oral Health in 2025. This framework advances implementation of the WHO Global Oral Health Action Plan, and establishes a clear path towards universal oral health coverage by 2030”.
He explained that countries are already translating these commitments into action, stressing that with financial support from the Borrow Foundation, Ghana, Madagascar, Tanzania and Uganda have developed national oral health strategies to strengthen prevention and service delivery.
He added “Ethiopia, with support from Hilfsaktion Noma e.V., has trained more than 850 primary care and community health workers across 10 regions to improve the early detection of noma, also integrating noma surveillance into mass drug administration campaigns that have reached over 2.6 million people nationwide.
Janabi added that to strengthen national training capacity and build a sustainable oral health workforce, Malawi has established its inaugural Bachelor of Dental Surgery programme, constructed a new dental school, and graduated its first locally-trained dentists.
He further revealed that WHO is also supporting countries to transition towards environmentally sustainable and less invasive oral health care, including the phase-out of mercury-containing dental amalgam in line with the Minamata Convention on Mercury.
He said “through evidence-based guidance, technical support and new evidence-based approaches, including the recently issued WHO guideline on environmentally-friendly and less invasive oral health, WHO is helping expand prevention, strengthen service delivery and integrate essential oral health interventions at the primary care level”.
