11 Nov 2019

Okavango DHMT head, Dr Alex Kalonji has appealed to the Ministry of Health and Wellness to equip the area with oral health facilities and relevant human resources.

Speaking at the Oral Health Project Village official opening in Qangwa on Friday, Dr Kalonji said Okavango DHMT was among the few that did not have oral health facilities to date, and the community is served from Maun.

Due to the vastness of the area and the difficult terrain, he also requested the ministry to consider supplying more mobile equipment such as scalers, chairs and machines, including mobile clinics to supplement the current one.

“This would make our dream of treating all people in need possible,” he said.

Dr Kalonji said the DHMT, through the oral health department based in Maun, runs four disease preventive programmes and two community project villages besides the daily clinical duties.

Meanwhile, each year, the oral health department selects two community project villages and gives them special attention in terms of oral health services.

Dr Kalonji said priority was given to the most remote, distant villages from oral health services with poor accessibility.

He noted that since inception of the project in 2016, it had covered a population of around 5 076 in Phuduhudu, Samochima, Mababe, Khwai, Qangwa and Gudigwa.

Dr Kalonji said the whole aim of the project was to reach out to every member of the community under the slogan Touch Them All.

“We screen all the people in selected villages for oral diseases and conditions and provide necessary treatment,” he said.

Dr Gasennelwe Gabakgorwe from the Ministry of Health and Wellness headquarters said such projects were important as they served to give the oral health community a platform for collective action and reflection on the growing need to prevent oral diseases and conditions in order to help communities to maintain a solid set of teeth for life.

“It is through events like this that healthcare personnel are able to promote community awareness on oral health and the importance of oral hygiene across generations, young and old,” she said.

Dr Gabakgorwe also noted that oral diseases were the most common non-communicable diseases and affected people throughout their lifetime, causing pain, discomfort, disfigurement and even death.

She therefore encouraged people to act on mouth health by taking simple steps such as practicing good oral hygiene, eating healthy diet, particularly low in sugar, avoiding tobacco use and reducing alcohol consumption, as well as going for dental check-ups every six months. ENDS