Symposium on Dental Education in African Countries – a Reflection

This is a guest post by Dr James Mchenga, the Acting Head of the Department of Oral Health Sciences at Kamuzu University of Health Sciences, Malawi

Representatives from 24 African nations gathered on July 11-12, 2025, at Université Mohammed VI des Sciences de la Santé (UM6SS) in Casablanca, Morocco for the inaugural African Dental Education Symposium. I was privileged to be the delegate representing Malawi and the Department of Oral Health Sciences at Kamuzu University of Health Sciences (KUHeS).

This landmark event, whose theme was Unity and Collaboration for Dental Education in Africa, was hosted by King Mohammed VI University and led to the formation of the Association for Dental Education in Africa (ADEA). This new organisation aims to transform dental education and delivery of oral healthcare across the continent.

Statistics from the World Health Organization indicate that Africa has just 0.44 dentists per 10,000 people. This contrasts sharply with the approximately 7 per 10,000 found in many high-income countries. Currently, Africa has 84 dental schools across 26 nations.

The symposium brought together deans and directors from dental schools across Africa with an ambition to encourage cooperation, innovation, and sustainable dental education programmes.

Establishment of the symposium was initiated by Professor Ihsane Benyayha, Dean of UM6SS Dental School.

Professor Benyayha emphasised the need for African leaders, professors and dentists to help each other. She noted that there were American and European Dental Education Associations, so why should Africa not have such an organisation?

The symposium was supported by the international surgical charity Mercy Ships.  Dr. David Ugai, Mercy Ships Country Director for Guinea, commented that it was unacceptable for any country to have one dentist per million people and that now was the time to solve this.

It was very exciting to join dental leaders from the 24 African nations attending this symposium, all intent on fostering collaboration, sharing resources, and improving dental curricula and infrastructure.

I was privileged and very proud to be the delegate representing my colleagues from the Department of Oral Health Sciences at KUHeS in Malawi.

In addition to the formal sessions, this symposium was an excellent chance for me to meet with colleagues old and new, providing valuable networking opportunities. It was a pleasure to meet again with Dr Nalumino Sayela from Levy Mwanawasa Medical University Dental School and Dr Cris Mumena from Copperbelt University Dental School, Zambia, both of whom have visited our BDS programme in Malawi for symposia and external examining activities.

Meeting Prof Londi Shangase of the University of Pretoria reminded me of the times we shared together as postgraduate students when we were contemporaries at the then Medical University of Southern Africa in South Africa.

The aim of the newly formed Association for Dental Education in Africa is to address the critical shortage of dental professionals and to strengthen dental education across the continent.

I was delighted to sign the declaration of the symposium on behalf of Malawi.

A transparent nomination and voting method was used to elect a 13-member board of directors to oversee the activities of the association over the next six years.  Two representatives were chosen from each of the five regions in Africa: North, East, West Central, and Southern Africa. 

As a result of the ballot, Prof Jeff Yengopal and Prof Fiona Makoni were elected to represent our region, Southern Africa.

Dr Benoit Varenne, Oral Health Programme Officer at WHO in Geneva, delivered an online presentation, updating us on the Global Strategy and Oral Health Action Plan 2023-2030, emphasising the ambition for Universal Health Coverage for oral health by 2030.

There is good link here, as Drs Jessie Mlotha-Namarika and Innocent Lanjesi had attended the WHO Global Oral Health conference in Bangkok in November 2024, representing Malawi, when the Bangkok Declaration was accepted. Work is now ongoing in Malawi through the Ministry of Health to finalise the WHO Oral Health Roadmap for the country.

Dr Varenne also provided information on the newly defined WHO Package of Essential Oral Health Care:

Clearly an important component of dental education in African dental schools is to ensure that students are fully aware of these WHO initiatives and of the content of national oral health policies in the respective countries.

My participation in workshops covering areas like university governance, curriculum development and social responsibility provided valuable insights for me as we continue to develop our BDS programme in Malawi.

I was also very interested to view the teaching facilities in the Dental School at the King Mohamed VI University, which were very impressive.

At this stage of our own Dental School development in Malawi, with a new building under construction, I was reminded what a difference it makes having access to high quality teaching infrastructure.

Another exciting element of the meeting was the opportunity to engage in open discussion and networking with colleagues from the American Dental Education Association and the Association for Dental Education in Europe. Their support for the new Association for Dental Education in Africa will be of value not only to the organisation itself, but to individual dental schools such as ours at KUHeS.  

Finally, I would like to thank the organisers of the symposium for the generous hospitality afforded us during our stay, particularly the beautiful local cuisine:

In summary, my attendance at this ‘first of its kind’ Symposium of Dental Education in Africa, representing Kamuzu University of Health Sciences and Malawi, was extremely worthwhile. Connections, networking, collaborative efforts in research, and sharing of curricula that are relevant to the African context will be of great value to us all moving forward. To have been in Morocco as one of the founding members of the new Association for Dental Education in Africa was an immense privilege and one that I don’t take for granted.

The new BDS programme at KUHeS has been established through The MalDent Project as a collaborative effort by multiple local and international partners. Our engagement with the Association for Dental Education in Africa extends that partnership, and reminds us that:

“Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much” — Helen Keller

Acknowledgements

Grateful thanks go to Dr David Ugai and his team from Mercy Ships for the seamless organisation and arrangements for this symposium.

Thanks also to Professor Ihsane Benyayha, Dean of UM6SS Dental School, and her team, for their hospitality and for looking after us all so well.