NYU College of Dentistry’s World Health Organization (WHO) Collaborating Centre, together with Sri Lanka’s Ministry of Health, has hosted a virtual event on Wednesday, 26 May 2021, on integrating oral and global health.
The meeting took place on the occasion of the 74th World Health Assembly of the WHO, which will convene virtually from 24 May through 1 June and will bring together ministers of health from all 194 WHO member states.
In January 2021, the WHO adopted a resolution on oral health calling for the development of a global oral health strategy, action plan, and monitoring framework to integrate oral health with Universal Health Coverage and the global agenda for noncommunicable diseases by 2030.
The endorsement of the resolution is on the agenda of the 74th World Health Assembly, an annual meeting of the WHO’s decision-making body to establish its priorities and policies.
“Oral health has long been too low on the list of global health priorities. This is why governments, through the resolution, are now asking for change,” said Habib Benzian, co-director of the WHO Collaborating Centre for Quality Improvement and Evidence-based Dentistry at NYU Dentistry, United States.
Almost half of the world’s population suffers from one or several oral diseases, many of which are preventable but have a serious impact on individuals, health systems, and economies. This side event will explore the urgent need for impactful action on oral health through policies and health systems, globally and within countries.
The event included speakers and panelists from the WHO, NYU Dentistry, Sri Lanka’s Ministry of Health, and additional high-level member state representatives from ministries of health in Denmark, Japan, Kenya, and Thailand. They discussed the state of health worldwide, policy pathways towards oral health for all, and turning policy into action to improve oral health by 2030.
