Fiji has endorsed the draft Western Pacific Regional Implementation Plan for the Global Strategy and Action Plan on Oral Health. It looks forward to the implementation of the Plan of Work under the regional plan.
While delivering Fiji’s intervention for Agenda Item 12 on Oral Health, Assistant Minister for Health and Medical Services Hon. Penioni Ravunawa urged WHO and its partners to support efforts by Member States to improve Oral Health for our populations.
Hon. Ravunawa said Fiji was committed to undertaking its National Oral Health survey to define better its status, which will also guide future strategic interventions.
Fiji acknowledges the Secretariat for the draft regional implementation plan for the long-neglected area of Oral Health in our regional health focus.
“Oral diseases have silently impacted the health of our people inflicting more than 40% of our regional population with dental caries, periodontal disease, oral cancer, and of course, tooth loss that affects their Bula Smile, he said.
“It is estimated that in Fiji, the prevalence of untreated caries of deciduous teeth in children aged 1 to 9 years is 46.7% while the prevalence of lip and oral cancer is noted to be 2.9%, with the disease occurring more in males than females.
“We continue to engage our School Oral Health teams that visit school regularly teaching our children on proper and regular oral health care. We currently have 23 active School Oral Health Teams around the country who saw 158,222 children in 2024 and conducted 680 toothbrushing drills.
“Our Healthy 5:20 Smile is a national initiative to encourage preschool children to maintain 20 healthy caries-free milk teeth at the age of 5 years. In 2024, we issued the Bula Smile 5:20 certificate to 2,278 excited pre-scholars. We are also committed to strengthening oral health services across our health ministry, and this has started with the appointment of our new National Advisor for Oral Health, and the upgrading of dental equipment across our health facilities.”
Hon. Ravunawa said Fiji celebrated World Oral Health Day in March each year in collaboration with its dental training institution and business organisations to bring greater awareness and educate our children and the general population on proper oral hygiene and health.
“In 2014, the Fiji National University or FNU in collaboration with the Ministry of Health and Medical Services commenced the Post graduate training in Oral Surgery and later adding the Masters in Oral Surgery in 2017,” he added.
“Since then, the FNU has graduated eight Master graduates: 5 from Fiji, and one each graduate from Solomon Islands, Vanuatu, and Samoa. There have also been a total of 7 graduates of the Postgraduate Diploma program from Tonga, Nauru, American Samoa, the Marshall Islands, the Cook Islands, the Solomon Islands, and Vanuatu.
“This capacity building initiative has significantly improved the quality and accessibility of specialist Oral Surgery services to our Pacific populations. Fiji recommends to WHO and development partners to continue to support this regional effort.”