The World Health Assembly approved May 27 what the FDI World Dental Federation calls a “landmark” resolution that puts oral health back on the global health agenda.
The resolution recognizes the global burden of oral diseases and their associations with other conditions, urging member states to address shared risk factors, enhance the professional capacity of oral health professionals to deliver consistent and quality care and to include oral health in universal health coverage benefit packages.
“The ADA is pleased that the World Health Organization recognizes that oral health is integral to systemic health around the world,” said ADA President Daniel J. Klemmedson, D.D.S., M.D. “We look forward to being an active, collaborative stakeholder in striving to achieve the goals set forth by the WHO’s World Health Assembly.”
The World Health Assembly is the forum through which the World Health Organization is governed by its 194 member states.
The resolution also asks the WHO to develop a global strategy and action plan on oral health with 2030 targets, among other follow-up actions.
The resolution, in addition, recommends a shift towards a preventive approach to care that includes promotion of oral health within the family, schools and workplaces that includes timely, comprehensive and inclusive care within the primary health-care system.
