15 Sep 2019

Assistant Minister of Health and Wellness, Mr Sethomo Lelatisitswe has implored all stakeholders to work with health professionals to support implementation of cost-effective interventions to address oral health problems.

Speaking at the National World Oral Health day commemoration in Kavimba on September 12, Mr Lelatisitswe challenged everyone to act on mouth health by practicing good oral hygiene.

He said such include simple steps of eating a healthy diet, low in sugar, avoiding tobacco use, reducing alcohol consumption as well as going for dental check-ups every six months.

The Assistant Minister noted that oral health diseases and other Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDS) such as cardiovascular disease, cancer, diabetes and chronic respiratory diseases, did not exist in isolation from one another. “Often, two or more NCDs manifest in the same individual and can occur because they share same risk factors or because some diseases predispose individuals to developing others and as a result can benefit from a common response,” he said.

Mr Lelatisitswe said it was therefore essential to adopt a common risk factor approach and fully integrate oral health into NCD prevention and control as well as broader health strategies.

He noted that with the growing burden of oral diseases and NCDs worldwide, there was urgent need for local, regional and national action.

He said after the 2011 United Nations Political Declaration on the Prevention and Control of NCDs, the World Health Organisation (WHO) African region, led the way in developing the first regional health strategy for the prevention and control of oral diseases integrated with NCDs.

He noted that Botswana had also committed to address NCDs by recently launching a five-year Multi-Sectoral Strategy for the Prevention and Control of NCDs 2018-2023.Therefore, he said the support of oral health community, Community Based Organisations, health sector and other sectors was urgently needed for making a success story of the initiative.

He said oral diseases were the most common NCDs and affected people throughout their lifetime, causing pain, discomfort, disfigurement and even death and it was therefore important to early detect and treat them.  He cited that currently, data indicated that tooth decay affected 54.2 per cent, while gum disease affected 13 per cent of clients, who visited oral health facilities. Mr Lelatisitswe said activities such as the World Oral Health Day encouraged all stakeholders to work together to secure optimal oral health for all and served to highlight the contribution of other sectors in making policies, which influence good oral health.

Earlier when giving the overview and objectives of the day, the head of Chobe District Health Management Team (DHMT), Dr John Makuka said Kavimba was selected to host the day because it was the current oral health focus village.

He explained that each year, the Oral Health unit choses a village and gives it focused attention in terms of oral health services.  Dr Makuka said the activities with the aim of screening and treating each and every member of the community started in April this year in Kavimba and would end in March next year.

He said since the beginning of the project, 438 people were screened and 165 of them were treated for various oral health diseases. ENDS