Washington, D.C., October 4, 2024 - The Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), in collaboration with the World Health Organization (WHO) and the WHO Collaborating Center for Oral Health at New York University, organized a Regional Oral Health Consultative Workshop on October 3-4, 2024, in Washington, D.C. This workshop served as a crucial preparatory event for the first-ever WHO Global Oral Health Meeting, scheduled for November 26-29, 2024, in Bangkok, Thailand. The workshop's primary focus was to accelerate efforts toward achieving universal health coverage (UHC) for oral health by 2030.
During the workshop, participants from 28 Member States discussed the Global Oral Health Action Plan (GOHAP), which aims to strengthen oral health services, prevent noncommunicable diseases (NCDs), and integrate oral health into broader health systems.
Dr. Enrique Vega, Life Course Unit Chief at PAHO, emphasized the need for collective action to ensure oral health becomes a priority on national health agendas. “Oral health is a critical component of the overall health and well-being of individuals and the population, yet it remains an underserved area of public health. Through our joint efforts, we have the opportunity to change this reality,” he remarked.
The event highlighted practical strategies for Member States to develop their own national oral health roadmaps, aligned with the GOHAP. Representatives from the region of the Americas were encouraged to take proactive steps in implementing policies that target vulnerable populations and reduce the global burden of oral diseases.
The WHO Global Oral Health Meeting in Bangkok will serve as a platform to reaffirm political commitments to oral health and introduce the Bangkok Declaration, a key outcome aimed at integrating oral health into the broader global health agenda.
For more details on the upcoming meeting, please visit the event page: WHO global oral health meeting: Universal health coverage for oral health by 2030.
