CHAIRMAN’S OPENING REMARKS BY CENTENARY PRESIDENT NIGERIAN MEDICAL ASSOCIATION-SIR, DR KAYODE OBEMBE ON THE OCCASION OF THE 2016 WORLD ORAL HEALTH DAY CELEBRATION IN JALINGO, TARABA STATE HELD ON MONDAY 21ST MARCH, 2016.
PROTOCOLS
On behalf of the National body of Nigerian Medical Association (NMA), I wish to heartily welcome you to this year’s World Oral Health Day Celebration (WOHDC) by this body holding here in Jalingo. Around this time last year, you will recall that NMA under my leadership organized the third edition of its Oral Health day in Lafia, Nasarawa State which was perceived by all as successful and grand.
This year the association decided to come to Taraba State in appreciation of His Excellency’s laudable, landmark and remarkable contributions to health care delivery in Nigeria and Taraba State in particular. It is also a thing of pride that the Governor has found some of our colleagues worthy to serve in his high calibre cabinet, namely Dr Innocent Vakkai-Hon Commissioner for Health, Dr Adison Jesse Ashumate- Hon Commissioner for Finance, Dr Badina Garba- Special Adviser, Dr Ali W- Special Adviser, Dr Alfred Y. Kobiba-Senior Special Assistant and Dr Tukura N. Nyigwa- Chief Physician to His Excellency. We are indeed very grateful to Your Excellency for this rare privilege.
At this juncture may I crave your indulgence to say a big congratulation to the Executive Governor of Taraba State HE Arc Darius Ishaku for the recent revalidation and confirmation of your electoral victory by the Supreme Court. The widespread jubilation by Tarabians was also an eloquent testimony of the fact that you are the peoples Governor.
Today NMA is here to make history having putting machineries in motion through the efforts of the National committee on dental health, NMA Taraba State and fully supported by the Taraba State Government to celebrate the World Oral Health day here in Jalingo.
The importance of the mouth in relation to the general human body cannot be over emphasized. Therefore it is no longer news that oral health affects overall health of an individual Hence, recent studies have shown the relationship between oral infections such as periodontal diseases and a variety of systemic disease conditions including Heart diseases, Diabetes, Lung diseases and Pancreatic Cancer.
The World Oral Health Day offers the global health community a platform to take action and help reduce the global oral disease burden. So that through teamwork, we can unite our efforts to prevent the epidemic of tooth decay, gum diseases and tooth loss and help our communities to maintain proper dentition for life. Therefore, it is high time we emphasize on practicable preventive measures, such as, eating good food, good brushing habits and regular dental check as sure remedies to curb this menace. Since the dictum prevention is better and cheaper than cure has become an imperative especially considering this era of global economic dwindling.
The theme of this year’s celebration which is: “Healthy Mouth, Healthy Body”; is apt and very consistent with global thinking in the march towards optimal oral health for all. This lecture will be judiciously addressed by an erudite dental scholar- Professor Akintade Dare. The high point of this year’s celebration will be free dental consultation, which will be followed immediately by two day dental treatment at the Federal Medical Centre Jalingo. Let us avail ourselves of this opportunity to be attended to by experts free of charge.
While NMA continues to contribute its little quota towards ameliorating the state of health of our people, governments at all levels must not shy away from its constitutional role of providing accessible, affordable and qualitative health care for all Nigerians. It is a fact that in a true democracy, the right to good health of every citizen is guaranteed and enshrined in the statute books. That is why the adoption of Universal Health Coverage through the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) by the just concluded National Council on Health in Sokoto is our surest way to tackling the deplorable health situation and poor health indices of our Nation.
In conclusion, I wish to appreciate and commend most sincerely the Taraba State government under the great leadership of His Excellency Arc Darius Ishaku who is a true and dependable friend of the Medical profession in Nigeria for accepting to collaborate with NMA in this worthwhile venture of raising awareness of the Mouth and related problems amongst our people. Once again I welcome you all to this epoch making event and wish you a very happy and memorable celebration of the mouth as the gateway to the body.
Thank you