The availability of oral health services is low in most health facilities across the country.
According to the Kenya Health Census Facility Report (KHCFR) of 2023, only 13 percent of the medical facilities offer oral health of the mouth, teeth, gums and related structures.
The report cited facilities providing primary oral care, where basic services were only available at six per cent and 16 per cent in level 2 and 3 health facilities, respectively.
The report further says that only two per cent of the health facilities offered specialised services, with a skewed distribution, where the bulk of the facilities were in urban centers.
The outgoing Medical Services Principal Secretary (PS) Henry Kimtai made the remarks in a speech delivered by the Acting Director, Curative and Nursing Services, Dr. Rebecca Kiptui, at Nduluku primary school, Mbooni East sub-county, during celebrations to mark this year’s World Oral Day.
“Access to oral health professionals remains a challenge, with the current dentist-to-population ratio standing at 0.27 per cent per 10,000 people.
The availability of oral health services is particularly low in primary facilities, accounting for 9% and 19% for level 2 and 3 facilities, despite the number of oral health increasing over the years,” said Kimtai.
The PS said that in Kenya the burden of oral diseases and conditions was high, whereby 98.1% of the adult population are affected by gum disease, while 46.3% of children aged five years have the problem of tooth decay.
At the same time, there were the rising cases of dental fluorosis, whereby 41.4% of children are being affected due to consumption of groundwater from boreholes, owing to scarcity of the rare commodity in most parts of the country.
In this regard, Kimtai called for concerted efforts from all stakeholders, including county governments, institutions, communities, corporates, donor agencies and development partners, in order to reverse the worrying trend.
“The Ministry recognises the immense potential these win-win collaborations hold for improving oral health outcomes in our country, so as to actualise the Universal Health Care (UHC) agenda, a cornerstone of the government’s Bottom-Up Economic Transformation Agenda (BETA),” he said.
The PS said oral diseases are the most common in the world, where 45 per cent of the global population is affected, while 44% of the population in the African region has been neglected.
However, he disclosed that the Ministry of Health was addressing the oral health needs of all Kenyans by integrating oral health into broader healthcare strategies and strengthening the oral health workforce.
“The Kenya National Oral Health Policy 2022-2030 and the Kenya Oral Health Strategic Plan 2022-2026 speak to this commitment by placing a high emphasis on addressing common risk factors of Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs) and social determinants of oral health through evidence-based cost-effective and sustainable interventions in the context of UHC,” he said.
Speaking at the same event under the theme A Happy Mouth… Is a Happy Mind, Makueni Governor Mutula Kilonzo Jr. said Kenyans were faced by a myriad of diseases, including diabetes and high blood pressure, among others, hence the need to ensure they accessed medical services.
Mutula pointed out that many Kenyans fail to seek treatment because they have no money to pay for the services, while lauding the organisers of the celebrations for offering free medical services at the site.
In this regard, he requested Kenya Defence Forces (KDF), who were part of the many partners offering free medical services, come back and do similar exercises in other parts of the county.
“I urge KDF to come back again; we do even a bigger medical camp in Makueni. Bring more surgeons with you,” pleaded Mutula.
On his part, Makueni County Commissioner (CC), Duncan Darusi, said when people are healthy, they contribute easily to the overall development of the country; hence, there is a need to ensure the majority of the people access medical services.
Also present was County Executive for Health Dr. Paul Musila, as well as other county and national government officials.
By Patrick Nyakundi
