The World Health Organisation (WHO) has revealed that despite advancements in oral healthcare, Africa lags significantly behind global benchmarks. According to Dr. Chikwe Ihekweazu, the Acting Regional Director for Africa at WHO, only 17% of the population in the region has access to essential oral healthcare services.

Dr. Ihekweazu made this known in his message on Thursday, commemorating the 2025 World Oral Health Day, observed annually on March 20. The day serves as a crucial reminder to prioritize oral health as an integral component of overall well-being.

Oral Health Crisis in Africa

WHO statistics indicate that oral diseases, including dental caries, gum disease, and tooth loss, affected 42% of the African population in 2021. The region also has the highest prevalence of noma, a rapidly progressing, non-contagious gangrenous disease primarily affecting young children.

“If left untreated, noma has a high fatality rate, and survivors often suffer from lifelong impairments, disfigurement, stigma, and discrimination,” Dr. Ihekweazu warned.

Efforts to Improve Oral Healthcare

To combat these challenges, African nations have adopted the Regional Oral Health Strategy (2016–2025), integrating oral disease management into noncommunicable disease (NCD) prevention programs.

Dr. Ihekweazu identified major risk factors contributing to poor oral health, including tobacco use, alcohol consumption, high sugar intake, and socioeconomic determinants. These factors are closely linked to other NCDs like diabetes, cancer, and cardiovascular diseases, making an integrated approach essential.

“At the global level, the Seventy-fourth World Health Assembly (2021) recognized oral health as a core part of the NCD agenda and Universal Health Coverage. This led to the endorsement of the Global Strategy on Oral Health and the Global Oral Health Action Plan 2023–2030 (WHA76), which includes a monitoring framework,” he stated.

Several African nations have taken concrete steps toward improving oral healthcare:

• Lesotho, Nigeria, and Sierra Leone have developed national oral health policies.
• Ethiopia and Kenya have trained nearly 180 primary care workers and 1,200 community health workers through WHO’s online courses on noma and oral health.
• Ethiopia has strengthened its noma surveillance system, identifying cases through active case-finding during onchocerciasis mass drug administration campaigns.
• A new capacity-building project in Kenya, Tanzania, and Zambia aims to improve access to WHO-listed dental materials, backed by Japan’s Ministry of Health, Labour, and Welfare.

Challenges Persist in Africa’s Oral Health Sector

Despite these advancements, Dr. Ihekweazu acknowledged that the region still lags behind in key oral health indicators.

“For example, only 17% of the regional population has access to essential oral healthcare services. Progress in disease prevention is also slow, particularly in fluoride use and sugar reduction efforts,” he noted.

Africa also faces a severe shortage of oral health professionals. WHO data from 2022 shows that the region has only 56,772 oral health workers, including dentists, dental assistants, and therapists—a ratio of 0.37 per 10,000 people. This is far below the required 158,916 oral health workers (1.33 per 10,000 people) needed to meet the growing demand.

Call for Action

Dr. Ihekweazu urged African nations to accelerate the implementation of the Global Oral Health Action Plan. To support this, WHO convened its first-ever Global Oral Health Meeting in Thailand (November 2024), bringing together key stakeholders to strategize solutions.

He emphasized the need for a multisectoral approach involving governments, private sector players, and civil society organizations. Proposed solutions include:

• Securing funding through innovative financing mechanisms, such as allocating health tax revenue to oral health.
• Integrating oral health services into national health insurance packages.
• Adopting a people-centered approach for implementation.

With proper investment and strategic policies, WHO believes Africa can bridge the oral healthcare gap and improve overall public health.