South Africa's National Department of Health representative from the Oral Health Directorate, Dr Dr. Mzimkhulu Mcuba, with Chief Dental Officers from ministries of health and NCD focal points from WHO country offices in 20 Member States completed a three day capacity building workshop to accelerate implementation of the Regional Oral Health Strategy 2016-2025 held in Brazzaville, Congo from 27 February – 1 March 2019.
The workshop programme included sharing of country achievements, expert input and partner contributions covering a broad range of policy aspects, implementation challenges and opportunities, as well as global developments relevant to country implementation and monitoring, such as the Minamata Convention on Mercury. Over the course of the deliberations, participants and invited experts acknowledged the overall progress made in the oral health agenda. Concern over existing gaps in policy intentions and implementation were also raised.