The Nigerian Dental Association (NDA) has called for urgent reforms in oral health policy implementation and improved access to healthcare.
It also called for strengthened national strategies to address noma, trauma-related conditions, and other preventable diseases affecting vulnerable communities.
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The association made the call on Tuesday in Abuja during the 2025 National Oral Health and Noma Day and Diagnostic Conference organised by the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare in partnership with Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), the World Health Organisation (WHO), and other health bodies.
The President of the association, Tope Adeyemi, said Nigeria continues to face significant oral health challenges, worsened by poor living conditions, lack of childhood immunisation, and inadequate access to potable water.
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Mr Adeyemi said many Nigerian children remain vulnerable to preventable illnesses due to poor sanitation, malnutrition, and limited access to life-supporting amenities.
He noted that the absence of childhood immunisation and safe drinking water contributes to repeated infections, weakens immunity, and increases susceptibility to oral diseases, malaria and other childhood ailments.
According to him, malaria remains one of the fastest-progressing illnesses affecting children, often presenting complications that heighten mortality risks.
Role of digital health awareness
Mr Adeyemi said the association has continued to lead online public health awareness through virtual campaigns aimed at educating Nigerians on oral care and disease prevention.
He cited programmes such as the “Talk With a Dentist” series and global digital health events like the “World Online Health Day,” marked annually on March 8.
Mr Adeyemi added that in September 2025, the NDA joined other health professionals at the International Data Transition API World Data Conference in Shanghai, China, where Nigeria’s participation was represented by the NDA and officials of the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare.
He described the engagement as part of wider efforts to deepen collaboration on online health, disease management, and digital health innovations.
Security challenges, trauma and workforce shortages
The association expressed concern about the rising cases of trauma in communities affected by insecurity, saying the trend has persisted for over a decade.
Mr Adeyemi said insecurity disrupts access to healthcare, delays treatment for trauma victims, and worsens outcomes for those in hard-to-reach areas.
He also warned that Nigeria continues to lose dental professionals to brain drain, popularly referred to as the “Japa syndrome”, leaving rural communities with severe workforce shortages.
According to him, improving the welfare of healthcare workers is crucial to retaining skilled dentists and ensuring nationwide access to quality oral health services.
Stronger national policies, a multidisciplinary approach
The NDA called for full implementation of the National Oral Health Policy, noting that effective execution would strengthen trauma prevention, noma control, and broader oral healthcare delivery.
Mr Adeyemi emphasised that proper policy rollout should integrate trauma care into routine services, expand access to facilities, and equip primary health centres with the capacity needed to meet community health needs.
He also encouraged a multidisciplinary approach, driven by global health strategies, to achieve national targets for oral health and noma elimination.
The association expressed confidence that with the right policies and coordinated efforts, Nigeria would significantly reduce the burden of preventable oral diseases.
Noma
Noma is a rapidly progressing gangrenous infection of the mouth and face, affecting mostly malnourished children living in conditions of extreme poverty.
The disease often begins as a mild gum infection but, without urgent medical attention, can destroy facial tissues within days, leading to severe disability or death.
PREMIUM TIMES reported in 2023 that the disease had long devastated children and adults across several poor communities, with many cases going undetected or untreated.
Although noma is most prevalent in sub-Saharan Africa, cases have also been recorded in the United States, Southeast Asia and South America.
The condition has been recognised for more than a thousand years and re-emerged in Europe during the Second World War, particularly in concentration camps where starvation and poor hygiene were widespread.
Due to limited research and the absence of robust surveillance systems, global data on noma remain scarce.
Some estimates suggest that between 30,000 and 40,000 cases occur every year.
WHO projected in 1998 that the annual burden could be as high as 140,000 cases, with about 770,000 survivors worldwide.
Nigeria does not yet have an official national figure, but health experts say the disease is concentrated largely in the northern region, where poverty, malnutrition, poor oral hygiene and limited access to healthcare remain widespread.
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