21 Mar 2019

Chobe District Health Management Team (DHMT) has screened all school children and the majority of Satau community, as part of the 2018/19 oral health project.

Chobe District Council chairperson, Councillor Paul Chabaesele said this on March 20 in Satau at the closing of the village project, which ran from April last year until March this year. 

Councillor Chabaesele said 100 per cent of school children and 70 per cent of community members were screened and treated for oral diseases.

He said the figures are a cause for celebration because research has shown that those who have been treated would  be free from tooth decay for the next two years.

This year’s World Oral Health Day theme is: Say Ahh: Think Mouth, Think Health.

Councillor Chabaesele said each year, World Oral Health Day focuses on a specific theme and reaches out to the public, oral health professionals and policy makers, who all have a role to play in helping reduce the burden of oral diseases.

He urged everyone to take advantage of programmes and services brought to them as some villages were still geographically disadvantaged and far from modern health services. 

He said a healthy mouth allowed one to speak, smile, smell, taste, touch, chew, swallow and convey a range of emotions with confidence and without pain, discomfort and disease.

“No matter what your age, oral health is vital to your general health and well-being,” he said. 

The project coordinator, Ms Tshegofatso Mothei said during the project, pupils were screened and treated at their school, while people with special needs were followed up at their homes, mothers and their under-fives were given special attention and the whole community was screened and treated.

Ms Mothei commended Satau community for taking proper care of the under-fives as most of them did not have any decayed tooth. 

Principal dental officer, Mr Mbangu Kashweeka said the objectives of the day were to get a report from the project coordinator on what was done and how much work was done; get feedback on how the community benefited; celebrate the achievements made together; maintain oral hygiene status of the community and reward community members who assisted in making the project a success.

Mr Kashweeka said each year, a small village is chosen and oral health screening is done for the community, oral health education and workshops are held in that village and at the end people are left clear and free of most oral diseases.

For his part, the DHMT coordinator, Dr Daniel Makuka thanked the political leadership for their support towards the health professionals. 

He said malaria was on the verge of being eliminated, adding that the best weapon to do so was through Indoor Residual Spraying (IRS) in order to get rid of mosquito.

He said 80 per cent IRS coverage was needed in order to eliminate malaria, but the district last year attained 72.7 per cent, while Satau village coverage was 79.1 per cent. 

He attributed the failure to achieve the 80 per cent coverage in the district to 79 houses where nobody was available, 49 locked, 16 refusals, 11 with children and nobody to give consent and two with sick people.

Dr Makuka raised a concern about community members who still refused IRS to be carried out in their houses as that frustrated efforts to eliminate malaria. 

He apologised for the delay in spraying last year, but promised the residents that this year it would be done on time. 

He said the chemical that was currently being used was user-friendly as it did not irritate the skin or cause itching.

Dr Makuka said since October last year, only one case of malaria was recorded in Satau and he urged the residents to keep their environment free from grass and stagnant water.

Meanwhile, the next village for the oral health project is Kavimba and it is expected to commence on April 1. ENDS