DILI, March 21, 2023 (TATOLI)— WHO (World Health Organization) Regional Director for Southeast Asia (SEARO), Poonam Khetrapal Singh on World Oral Health Day reported that currently there are around 3.4 billion people in the world who have experienced the oral disease.
On World Oral Health Day, WHO urges countries in the Southeast Asia Region to accelerate the implementation of the new Regional Action Plan for Oral Health 2022–2030.
It aims to ensure that everyone, everywhere in the Region can enjoy the highest attainable state of oral health, with a focus on achieving universal coverage for oral health by 2030.
“Globally, oral disease affects around 3.5 billion people worldwide. Between 1990 and 2019, the estimated number of cases of oral disease increased by more than 1 billion, which is a 50% increase, higher than the population increase of around 45% in the same period,” said the Director of WHO-SEARO, via a press release accessed by Tatoli.
Oral disease is caused by a variety of modifiable risk factors common to many non-communicable diseases (NCDs), including sugar consumption, tobacco use, alcohol use, and poor hygiene, as well as underlying social and commercial factors.
In 2019, the WHO Southeast Asia Region had an estimated 900 million cases of untreated dental caries, severe periodontal disease, and edentulous. This region has the highest incidence and death rates from oral cancer in the world, with age standard mortality for males and females more than double the global average.
The WHO Southeast Asia Region comprises the following 11 Member States: Bangladesh, Bhutan, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, India, India, Maldives, Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Thailand, and Timor-Leste.
Across the Region, disease burden shows strong inequality, with prevalence and severity higher in poor and disadvantaged populations, who generally have less access to prevention, care, and rehabilitation.
Since 2014, WHO has provided actionable support to all countries in the Region to prevent and control NCDs – including oral diseases – as a Top Priority, achieving steady and sustainable progress.
Ten countries in the region reported conducting oral health screening for early detection of oral disease in primary health care settings, of which six countries also provided emergency care for emergency oral care and pain relief.
Five countries have implemented taxes on sugar-sweetened beverages, and the Region is currently on track to achieve the WHO NCD Global Plan of Action target of a 30% relative reduction in the prevalence of tobacco use between 2010 and 2025.
WHO is recognizing the public health importance of major oral diseases and conditions, in 2021 WHO formulated a Regional Action Plan for Oral Health, based on input from all Member States.
The plan was unanimously adopted at the Seventy-fifth Session of the WHO Regional Committees in 2022, accompanied by a resolution to report progress every two years.
This is the first plan to be developed based on the new WHO Global Strategy on oral health and builds on the Regional situational analysis of progress, successes, and challenges of the previous oral health strategy 2013-2020.
It aims to achieve a 33.3% relative reduction in premature death from oral cancer and a 25% relative reduction in the prevalence of untreated caries in permanent teeth by 2030, with the overall goal of achieving universal coverage for oral health.
On World Oral Health Day, WHO reiterated its commitment to support all countries in the Region to achieve full implementation of the new Regional Plan of Action on Oral Health, and with it, lifelong oral health for all.
TATOLI
