A toothbrush can make a difference
by Dr Akinlade Akinwaleola
The courage of an eight year old boy
called Abdullahi continues to inspire me and has been pivotal to my growth as an individual. When i met him about 5 years ago, his circumstances were quite dire.
Out of school and having little or no parental supervision, Abdullahi had become a child of the street. When we met, he had poor oral hygiene needing immediate intervention. Our team got to work on him and the results were remarkable.
He quickly became a community organiser and a mentor to his peers. His contributions in every sense epitomises what impact should be like.This impact is evident in his continued volunteering and mentoring activities while leading actively a group of 200 street children on preventive aspects of oral health taught to him by our group.
Like Abdullahi, the organisation i founded Wellness smiles health initiative aims to solve oral health problems as well as positively impact society. My passionate team has a vision of providing oral health through literacy and awareness to under-served communities in northern Nigeria. In addition the organisation provides early oral health treatment and preventive education to underserved populations and promotes a dental assistance fellowship for local women with otherwise inadequate earning opportunities, empowering them with a sustainable careers in dentistry.
These free novel scalable transformational strategies are simple and reproducible in poor communities which have little or no access to oral healthcare. Within the last few years of it’s existence over 600 women and 6000 children have since been impacted by these interventions. Unquestionably, poor oral health is prevalent in Nigeria, with 77 per cent of the population having dental disease, while organisations like Wellness smiles help to reduce the effect of this neglected aspect of general health. This neglect may be due to the perceived notion that oral health is a luxury. Generally, unbeknownst to many Nigerians, preventive actions in oral health help reduce dental diseases as well as the incidence of non communicable diseases. It is also a reason for childhood malnutrition, school and work absenteeism and reduced quality of life.
A poor national universal health care system and lack of social safety net that caters for the vulnerable further aggravates this problem. Furthermore a dearth of qualified dental professionals due to insecurity in this region has made dental treatment inaccessible and unattainable.
For me, my contribution in changing the narrative of inaccessible oral health care for the poor is what grants me the courage to be unfazed even in these tough times that COVID-19 presents.
Smile champions like Abdullahi who are undeterred by challenges that life presents to them embolden me. It is such inspiring stories of strength and determination even in disparity, inequality and poverty that motivates me to inspire others and myself .
Perhaps, if everyone adopted a cause we would see such disparities as opportunities for innovation in social justice and create a lasting legacy that can shape social policy in Nigeria and Africa.
Akinwaleola, writes from Kano. He is an oral and maxillofacial surgeon, founder of Wellness Smiles Health Initiative.
