Nigeria launches 70 billion naira oral health plan
By the AFREEQUE newsroom, based on ThisDay
Nigeria launches a 2026-2030 strategic oral health plan worth 70 billion naira, as more than 80% of Nigerians have never visited a dentist and two in three children suffer from untreated tooth decay. The country has one of the world’s heaviest burdens of noma, according to Health Minister Iziaq Adekunle Salako.
The Nigerian federal government plans to allocate 70 billion naira to implement the National Oral Health Strategic Plan 2026-2030, aimed at improving access to dental care and strengthening prevention. Minister of State for Health and Social Welfare Iziaq Adekunle Salako unveiled the plan in Abuja during National Noma Day and National Oral Health Day, according to ThisDay.
The government estimates that more than 80% of Nigerians have never visited a dentist and that two in three children suffer from untreated dental caries. The plan notably provides for greater integration of dental care into primary healthcare services and strengthened capacity for early detection of noma, according to Iziaq Adekunle Salako, quoted by ThisDay.
The minister said frontline health workers, traditional healers and traditional birth attendants had been trained in the early detection of noma and other oral diseases in 19 states. Nigeria has also integrated noma surveillance into its integrated disease surveillance and response system, ThisDay reports.
Noma, an infection that rapidly destroys tissue in the mouth and face, particularly affects malnourished or immunocompromised children. The World Health Organization classified it as a neglected tropical disease in 2023, Iziaq Adekunle Salako recalled.
