The World Alliance for Mercury-Free Dentistry (WAFMD) will on Monday, December 9, 2024, kick off a week-long flagship Africa Week for Mercury-Free Dentistry. It is themed: “Implementing the Children’s Amendment in Africa/Developing economies (COP 4.2)”.
Part of the decisions during COP4.2 include no dental (mercury) amalgam for pregnant or breastfeeding women, children from 1 to 6 years and women of childbearing age (15-39 years).
In a statement issued ahead of the week-long event which holds from December 9 to 13, 2024, in several African countries including Nigeria, Kenya, Ivory Coast, Sierra Leone, Ghana, and Tanzania, among others, Chairman and Founder, Dentists Committee for a Mercury Free Africa, Prof. Godwin Toyin Arotiba, said Africa should not be a dumping ground for dental amalgam, and African countries have poor resources and technology to manage mercury wastes.
He pointed that the African dentist desires to practice 21st Century mercury-free dentistry (minimum intervention Dentistry – MID) and not 19th century tooth destructive “drill and fill” dentistry (which is not evidence based).
“While 21st century dentistry aims to keep all teeth and oral tissue healthy and functional for life, drill and fill dentistry often results in toothless ‘grandpa’ smile in old age with poor oral and general health outcome,” Prof. Aritoba added.
President of the US-based World Alliance for Mercury-Free Dentistry, Charlie Brown, during a recent visit to Abuja, Nigeria, disclosed that the organisation has activities in 23 African countries that all started after the Abuja Declaration of 2014 which became a prototype for the whole world on phase down of dental amalgam.
He went further, “The Abuja Declaration became the prototype for the whole world. After the Abuja Declaration, we did the Dakar Declaration, for Asia for mercury-free dentistry, the Declaration for Latin America, the Chicago Declaration for mercury-free dentistry in the United States. Then the Bonn Declaration.
“All these came from the Abuja Declaration because it just sounds governmental, it sounds official. It really was just eight of us in the room. We had the West African group, Dominique Bally from Ivory Coast, along with people from Benin, Senegal, Ghana, off course Nigeria and Tanzania. Everybody was so excited. So, the Abuja meeting actually started the campaign in East Africa too.
“Abuja Declaration is what those of us see as a vision Africa should have. Did we know what we were doing? Not yet. Did we have a plan? No, not yet. We had a vision and that was the Abuja Declaration,” he said.
There is some delay in declaring Zambia to be Mercury-Free Dentistry . Iam in Lusaka waiting to meet the Minister of Health. Zambia does mot use dental amalgam since 2010 ,the Dental School has revised the syllabus excluding Dental amalgam. With the support CEHF is receiving from Zambia Environmental Management Agency (ZEMA) and the Ministry of Green Economy and Environment (MGEE)
We are definitely succeeding. Zambia only need the legislation to strengthen the enforcement at the boarder entry.
In April 2023 organized SADC and EAC round table meeting in Lusaka on advocacy for implementing the Minamata Convention on children’s amendment. The children’s amendment to the Minamata Convention has now been made into law on 28 September, 2023
Children’s Environmental Health Foundation has joined the African Civil society Organisations in phasing out Dental Amalgam and Advocacy for declaring victory in Zambia and Africa Dental Amalgam Free continent. On 28 November 28th November 2023 the World Alliance for Mercury-Free Dentistry saluted the Readership of His Excellency Dr Hakainde Hichilema in leapfrogging Zambia as a nation to Morden,toxic-free,oral health care, mercury-free dentistry ,Charlie Brown stated.For Zambia we just need the legislation to be put in place and Zambia will be declared Dental Amalgam free country as use of Dental Amalgam in government and private health facilities is not done since 2010