By Saima Wazed, regional director for Southeast Asia
World Oral Well being Day, marked yearly on March 20, calls consideration to oral well being as a key indicator of well being, effectively -being and high quality of life basically. Oral illnesses are among the many commonest non -communicable illnesses worldwide, which have an effect on roughly three.5 billion folks.
The World Well being Group is asking the international locations of the Southeast Asian area and companions for accelerated motion, reiterating the commitments of the Bangkok declaration “with out well being with out oral well being”, adopted on the WHO total oral well being assembly in November 2024.
Oral illnesses and circumstances trigger bodily signs, useful limitations and a detrimental impression on emotional, psychological and social effectively -being. Among the many six WHO areas, Southeast Asia reviews the best quantity, roughly 900 million instances of illnesses and oral circumstances, which mirror the massive inhabitants of the area. Our area additionally has the best load of oral most cancers amongst all WHO areas. That is the main most cancers amongst males within the area, which represents 11.2% of all instances.
Southeast Asia additionally homes international locations which might be the primary customers of confirmed carcinogens that trigger oral most cancers, equivalent to smokeless tobacco or Areca nut. A latest evaluation revealed that one in two instances of oral most cancers in our area is attributable to the consumption of smokeless tobacco or Areca nuts. This basically signifies the variety of instances that could possibly be prevented whether or not the consumption of smokeless tobacco or space of Areca shall be eradicated from the inhabitants, emphasizing the potential impression of major prevention.
On this context of excessive cost of illnesses and oral circumstances, I reaffirm our dedication to offer steering and processible technical help to all international locations to implement the Regional Motion Plan of Asia of the Southeast WHO for oral well being 2023-2030, and direct the area in direction of common well being protection for oral well being by 2030.
The primary world oral well being assembly, held in Bangkok in November 2024, was a worthwhile platform for members of members to share data and study from the experiences of different international locations. The Nationwide Oral Well being Roadmays made on the assembly are strategic planning instruments to information international locations to translate their priorities recognized in processable steps within the coming years.
Responding to the request of the Member States to WHO for technical help to handle the excessive load of oral most cancers attributable to the consumption of smokeless tobacco and Areces of Areca, who’s within the strategy of formulating a regional roadmap of Asia from the Southeast WHO to handle the burden of oral most cancers. The target of this device is to information member states in regionally related methods to handle the burden of oral most cancers and different well being outcomes.
Whereas promising the continual technical help of WHO, he urges all these all in favour of oral well being to benefit from the orientation to speed up progress in direction of common oral well being by 2030 within the area.
As we’re reminded on World Oral Well being Day 2025, “a contented mouth is a contented thoughts.”