Australia’s dentists are to be asked to join a growing movement internationally to help combat dental disease in Africa.
Tanzania is the first target of the Australian help campaign, to be formally launched in Sydney next month but to be showcased by its promoters in Perth tomorrow (Thursday 8 September) at the renowned Africa Down Under conference – an annual summit of the very substantive exploration, investment and mining partnerships between Australia and Africa.
Dental disease affects more people in the world than any other – ranking No 1 out of 291 reported diseases globally. Now, Australia’s dentists will be encouraged to join and support a highly successful United Kingdom-based NGO – Bridge2Aid which has operated successfully in Tanzania for 10 years, training medical officers in remote areas in safe emergency dental care.
The voluntary work to date by UK dentists shows that over a 10 year period, dental care can be provided in remote parts of Tanzania for as little as $6 per person per treatment.
Bridge2Aid’s UK Chief Executive, Mr Mark Topley, said today: “Dental disease causes excruciating pain and if untreated, leads to dangerous complications. More than 70% of the world’s population have no access to any recognized dental treatment and because of this, millions suffer crippling pain every day.
“Dental pain causes as many working and school days to be lost each year as malaria. Millions of people are prevented from eating, sleeping, working, caring for their family or attending school.
“Based upon the model of our Bridge2Aid partner organisation in Europe, we are now seeking to harness the power of the Australian dental profession, both as fundraisers and volunteers by establishing Bridge2Aid Australia.
“In the past 10 years, Bridge2Aid has provided training to rural medical workers in Tanzania that has given more than four million people access to emergency dental treatment. Bridge2Aid Australia will help bring pain relief to millions more in the developing world and over time expand Bridge2Aid’s footprint.”
The Bridge2Aid model is based on training rural health officers who are already part of an in-country’s community healthcare infrastructure. Bridge2Aid Australia will be using trainers who are all volunteers from the Australian dental profession.
Speaking in Perth today, Bridge2Aid Australia Honorary Chairman, Euroz Securities Executive Director, Mr Nick McGlew, said today Australian assistance provided a solution that was appropriate, sustainable and would make an enormous positive health impact.
“This training model passes skills into local hands to provide long-term lasting change and that change can include saving lives,” Mr McGlew said.
“Australian dentists joining the campaign will have their efforts backed by our two Tanzanian Patrons, Professor David Mwakyusa, an ex Minister of Health and Dr Asha-Rose Migiro, the previous Deputy Secretary General of the United Nations.“
Participating Australian dentists will be tasked with training Tanzanian medical officers in emergency dental care and oral health education in local communities.
The full cost to train one rural health worker is around $16,000 – but with the UK experience already showing that the newly trained health workers are able to each treat around 270 people a year.
Mr McGlew said good health was vital for all communities, particularly in East Africa where the ability to work and go to school is crucial for survival.
“When communities suffer in pain with treatable conditions due to lack of primary healthcare, it becomes a major issue. Bridge2Aid Australia will have the capacity to free more communities from chronic pain by teaching extraction, cross infection control and oral health education to existing rural health workers, stopping months and years of agony for many, and minimising the incidence of life-threatening infections.”
For more information, visit www.bridge2aid.com.au. The Australian arm will be formally launched on 11th October at the Australian Dental Association NSW.
