Patients with tooth decay or cavities and other oral diseases, will now be treated by locally trained dental surgeons, writes ANDERSON FUMULANI.
On April 30, Malawi’s first 10 locally trained doctors graduated with bachelor of dental surgery from Kamuzu University of Health Sciences (Kuhes) in Blantyre.
The dentists’ graduation was part of the ongoing MalDent Project by Kuhes and the University of Glasgow in Scotland, funded by the Scottish Government Malawi Development Programme from 2018 to 2024 .
The degree programme was conceived to address the oral health needs of people
The Skills for A Vibrant Economy (Save) Project, funded by the World Bank, is funding the construction of an integrated teaching and innovation hub that houses a School of Dentistry.
The $5.5 million project wants construction of the facility completed by June 2026.
In April this year, contractors deployed construction machinery and equipment at Kuhes, formerly the University of Malawi’s College of Medicine, to construct the country’s first-ever dental school complete with clinical facilities.
“This facility will provide us with that opportunity to have a proper dental school. There will also be a facility where people will come in and seek care,” said Kuhes Save coordinator Professor Chisomo Msefula.
When the project steering committee visited the construction site on campus along Mahatma Gandhi Road, he unpacked the vision for a properly equipped dental clinic where patients pouring in would access quality oral health care services.
“This is the first dental school to offer a degree course in Malawi. People will [also] come here for dental referrals,” Msefula stated.
The country struggles to provide quality dental health services due to shortage of highly trained dentists.
In 2018, there were only 40 dentists serving the nation of 20 million people.
According to the Health Sector Strategic Plan which expired in 2022, half of schoolchildren, aged six to nine, have tooth decay while 78 percent of those aged 12 to 17 also have cavities.
If the situation remained the same, according to the 2023/24 Education Management Information System report, 1.3 million school-going children and 1.6 million of their peers aged 12 to 17 have tooth damage.
The high-ranking government delegation led by the committee’s co-chair—Secretary for Higher Education Levis Eneya and Secretary for Labour Chikondano Mussa—told contractors to urgently complete the construction of Save facilities in various colleges.
“Every single minute counts because construction takes time,” Eneya told the contractors. “It’s no longer business as usual. All eyes must be on the ball.”
Construction of the facilities to increase equitable access to market-relevant skills, especially for females and the vulnerable youth, take a lion’s share—40 percent—of the $100 million funded by the World Bank.
The five-year project implemented by ministries of Education and Labour started in 2021.
It is expected to benefit nine public higher education institutions, seven national technical colleges and 15 community technical colleges.
Each of the 31 institutions is constructing some infrastructure to increase enrolment.
