The Federal Government has unveiled initiatives to modernise and equip dental facilities nationwide, aiming to improve oral health care quality and broaden access to comprehensive services.

Speaking at the World Oral Health Day event in Abuja, Minister of State for Health, Dr. Adekunle Salako, said oral health will be fully integrated into primary health care, enabling centres to provide oral hygiene education, counselling, essential diagnostics, fluoride treatments, restorative care, and referrals.

Dr. Salako noted that oral diseases are the most common non-communicable diseases globally, affecting nearly half of the population and causing pain, social isolation, and even death. He highlighted noma, a rapidly progressing gangrenous facial infection that primarily affects malnourished children in extreme poverty, warning that untreated cases can lead to severe disfigurement or death within days.

Nigeria, he said, falls within the “noma belt” of sub-Saharan Africa, with the highest prevalence in the North-Western region. Poverty, malnutrition, poor oral hygiene, and weak surveillance systems drive the disease. To address this, primary health workers, community health workers, and traditional birth attendants are being trained to identify, treat, and refer cases for specialised care.

Dr. Salako affirmed the government’s commitment to employ more dental professionals at primary health centres and provide oral health services as part of the universal health coverage agenda. “Noma is preventable and treatable. It is therefore unacceptable that any child in our country should suffer irreversible disfigurement or die from it,” he said.

Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) Country Representative, Ahmed Aldikhari, highlighted collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Health and Sokoto State Ministry of Health at the Noma Children’s Hospital. MSF has delivered acute treatment, reconstructive surgeries, oral physiotherapy, nutrition support, and mental health services, completing over 1,600 major reconstructive surgeries in the past decade.

Aldikhari also celebrated the inclusion of noma in the WHO list of Neglected Tropical Diseases, crediting joint advocacy by the Nigerian government and MSF for the milestone.