This is a guest post written by William Benjamin, President of the Dental Surgery Students Association and Nivah Mwafulirwa, Secretary of the Association

The Department of Dental Surgery came alive on the evening of 12th July 2025 as it hosted the highly anticipated Premed Welcome Function under the inspiring theme “Welcome to The World of Dentistry.”

Held at the John Chimphange Lecture Theatre (JCLT), the event served as a heartfelt and purposeful gesture to welcome premedical dental students into the vibrant and demanding world of dentistry.

The primary goal of the event was to formally introduce the incoming students to the Bachelor of Dental Surgery programme and to foster a sense of community by connecting them with continuing students, faculty, and leaders within the department.

A Night of Insight, Inspiration, and Interaction

The atmosphere was warm, exciting, and deeply inspiring as over 95 attendees, primarily students from the department and a few from other programmes, gathered for the evening. The event kicked off with introductions of all students, setting a welcoming tone that carried through the night.

Among the evening’s key highlights were motivational speeches from individuals who have walked the journey and emerged wiser:

• Michael Evance, a final-year student, gave a practical and heartfelt talk on how best to study and manage time while on campus, offering invaluable advice from personal experience.

• Nellie Mnyalira, a fourth-year student and an inspiring speaker, focused on her passion for dentistry, reminding new students that their journey would be most rewarding when rooted in purpose.

Adding depth to the occasion were impactful speeches from student leaders, William Benjamin (The Dental Surgery Students Association President) and Eric Magetsi (KUHeS Student Representative Council President), who delivered warm welcomes and shared insights about student life and leadership.

The event was graced by the Guest of Honour, Dr. Mahesh Taware, who shared his wisdom and encouragement, leaving the audience both reflective and motivated.

Panel Discussion: Experience Meets Aspiration

One of the most engaging segments of the evening was a panel discussion hosted by Nivah Mwafulirwa and Nellie Mnyalira. The panel featured seasoned voices:
• Anna Smith – University of Birmingham UK, visiting elective student
• Dr. Wellington Chikuni – Queen Elizabeth Central Hospital dentist and alumni coordinator
• Dr. Mahesh Taware – Private dental practitioner
The panel discussed life in dental school, navigating challenges, and building a successful academic and professional path. Their diverse perspectives sparked curiosity and reassured many students about the journey ahead.

As the evening drew to a close, each of the premed dental students received a welcoming gift, presented by Dr Chikuni.

Hosted with Heart

The function had been beautifully energized by the charismatic hosts, Wezzie Nkhata and Aubrey Gama, whose warmth and humour ignited meaningful interactions, laughter, and a spirit of connection among attendees.

From the heartfelt stories to laughter-filled conversations, the event was filled with memorable moments that not only celebrated a new beginning but also planted seeds of purpose and belonging in the hearts of every newcomer.

A Bright Start

The Premed Welcome Function did more than just mark the start of an academic journey — it kindled passion, forged friendships, and built bridges between generations of dental students. As the new students left the venue, they carried with them more than just notes and introductions; they left with a sense of identity and inspiration, ready to embrace the noble path of dentistry.

Here’s to new beginnings, bright futures, and a community that supports and inspires.

Acknowledgements

We would like to acknowledge the following for their financial support: Prof. Jeremy Bagg, Dr. Peter Chimimba, Dr. James Kang, Dr Niall Rogerson, Dr. Shabana Yusuf, and The Smiling Surgeons Funds. We also extend a vote of thanks to all dental students for participating in the fundraising activities organized by the DSSA committee. Special thanks to Dr. Taware for accepting the role of Guest of Honour. Additionally, we thank Dr. Chikuni and Anna Smith for joining us as guests and participating in the panel discussion. Lastly, we’d like to thank the DSSA committee for their tireless efforts in ensuring the event’s success.

In a previous blog post, we reported on the handover of the identified site from Kamuzu University of Health Sciences to Mango Tree Construction Company, the contractor whose tender had been accepted for construction of the new dental school building on the Blantyre campus. We concluded that post with a photo of the white line that had been sprayed on the ground to delineate the perimeter of the site – great excitement that construction was due to start!

This post will be a largely pictorial summary of the work completed since that site handover on 11th April.

Very rapidly after the site handover, the contractor mobilised on site. A perimeter fence was erected …

… the footprint of the building was cleared of trees and other obstructions …

… a hoarding announcing the project was erected …

… and foundations were dug for construction of site offices …

… which rose from the ground rapidly:

The office in the Library Building on the KUHeS Blantyre Campus that I share with Peter Chimimba has a bird’s eye view of the building site, and it has became the norm every morning on arrival to take an immediate look out of the window to view the action! There was a period of significant earth moving …

… and on a visit to the site, Peter and I were astonished at the groundworks that had been completed:

On a slightly later visit, when much of the earth moving had been completed, we witnessed the key outlines of the building being carefully mapped out and marked:

A view across the site showed how the building has been designed into the natural slope of the ground:

Following the mapping of the building shown above, construction began in earnest:

Our most recent visit to the site was on Monday 4th August, when the following video was filmed:

The rate of progress of the construction is astonishing. For The MalDent Project team this is a dream come true and we look forward to keeping our followers updated as the building rises from its foundations.

This post has been written jointly by Nigel and Vicky Milne (Smileawi), Shaenna Loughnane (Bridge2Aid) and Jeremy Bagg (The MalDent Project)

The charities Smileawi and Bridge2Aid have featured on numerous occasions in this blog, since they are two of the strongest partners of The MalDent Project, having been closely engaged with various work streams since its inception. One of the areas of activity in which they are currently collaborating is the training of Oral Health Promoters in Malawi, particularly in the more rural areas of the country. In an earlier blog post by Andrew Paterson of Bridge2Aid, the basis of their model of cascade training of dental therapists and community volunteers is outlined. The initial proof of concept trial has been undertaken in Northern Malawi and work is now underway to roll out the project in Central and Southern regions.

In order to raise additional funding to support this Oral Health Promoter expansion, Smileawi and Bridge2Aid decided to run a collaborative fund-raising event to coincide with the 2025 Scottish Dental Show. The Royal College of Physicians & Surgeons of Glasgow (RCPSG) was chosen at an early stage as the venue of choice. With its strong commitment to global health, the RCPSG has been a great supporter of Smileawi and The MalDent Project, and its beautiful building, together with the hospitality function delivered through 1599, made it the perfect choice for the event.

The Midsummer Jamboree for Malawi took place on Friday 20th June 2025. The event was focused on the spectacular RCPSG College Hall, constructed and designed by architect John James Burnett in 1892, which looked very impressive set out at the beginning of the evening with nine tables for the formal dinner.

Each table setting included a baobab tree, wooden elephant and Malawi flag to reflect the focus of the fund-raising. These items, made and purchased in Malawi, were kindly provided by Ruthie Markus, CEO of the charity AMECA, one of our other partners. Each table was named after a Malawian town or village.

We would be served and looked after throughout the evening by a fantastic team of College staff from 1599.

A wide variety of raffle prizes had been donated by supporters to tempt guests into participating in the After Eight Mint raffle. These were displayed on a table at the back of College Hall. The After Eight Mints had been lucky to survive the unusually warm Glasgow day in the back of Shaenna’s car parked at Braehead for the Scottish Dental Show earlier!

Before the guests arrived there was time for the organisers to have a photo taken with Steven Drennan, our piper for the evening.

At 6.45pm, Steven headed down to the steps at the formal entrance of the College and began playing to welcome our guests as they arrived:

There is no better welcome to an event in Scotland than the sound of the pipes and our guests loved it. We were delighted that a number of those joining us were Malawian and they particularly enjoyed meeting the piper.

The evening started with welcoming drinks in the Lower Library, a beautiful, intimate room lined by bookcases and ancient volumes over two levels:

This was a great opportunity to catch up with friends and colleagues ahead of the formal dinner:

Having completed his duties welcoming guests into the College on St Vincent Street, Steven was pressed into action again to pipe us all up the staircase into College Hall for dinner:

The Hall was soon buzzing with the hum of conversation and sounds of laughter – a great evening was in store.

Once we were all seated Professor Christine Goodall, Vice President (Dental) of the RCPSG, welcomed us to the College. Christine cited the significant support of the College for the ongoing oral health developments in Malawi as part of its global health mission and also mentioned that the College is currently celebrating its 425th anniversary. What an appropriate setting for our event.

Following Christine, Shaenna Loughnane, CEO of Bridge2Aid, gave a summary of the ongoing partnership with Smileawi and the purpose of the Oral Health Promoter training initiative in Malawi. Nigel Milne of Smileawi then gave a vote of thanks to the various individuals and organisations who had helped to make this evening’s event possible.

The dinner service then commenced and 1599 fully lived up to its reputation for serving beautifully prepared cuisine.

In between courses, guests were given the opportunity to make donations and participate in a variety of games and challenges, together with the raffle. The first game, ‘heads or tails’ was won by Ruthie Markus, who gambled heavily on ‘tails’ – a good call!

Another challenge was provided courtesy of the dental charity called Small Bricks Project (Registered Charity Number 1205284). This is a very novel organisation that supports children referred to the NHS Community Dental Services in Wales, and we were very grateful to our guest Manolis Roditakis for suggesting the idea and supplying the boxes of bricks.

Those guests entering the competition were provided with a small box containing multi-coloured pieces of Lego, which had to be joined together to form the shape of a heart.

Prizes were awarded for those who created the heart most swiftly. Those who didn’t wait for the start signal were summarily disqualified!

After dinner and when all the games were completed, guests were invited to move across to the Princess Alexandra Room where tea and coffee were served.

Meanwhile, in College Hall, the tables were being cleared and re-arranged in preparation for the gig by the Big Smile Big Band. The members of this amazing group of musicians are all dentists who trained at the University of Glasgow Dental School. What began as a small group who played the incidental music for each year’s traditional dental student Christmas pantomime became, under the leadership of Callum Wemyss, a wonderful troupe which has now played at many events for a variety of organisations and charities, including the RCPSG HOPE Foundation. Although some of the members have now been qualified for a decade, they still come back together for events such as ours – tremendous camaraderie, loyalty and dedication for which we were very grateful.

In addition to the instrumentalists, Glasgow Dental School has also enjoyed some terrific singers among its ranks, as the following clip shows:

As the band played its set, the dancers among the guests made the most of the vibe, keeping the action going until the curfew at midnight.

We are immensely grateful to all those who came along on the evening to help us generate funds for the ongoing Oral Health Promoter project in Malawi.

Thanks to your generosity the event raised £3825, which will allow the project to proceed apace. Be sure to follow the social media channels of Smileawi and Bridge2Aid, in addition to this blog, to keep up with progress and future developments.

THANK YOU ALL FOR JOINING US!

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

We would like to thank our generous event sponsors:

Gold sponsor: Park Orthodontics

Silver sponsors: Chase de Vere Dental and Henry Schein Cares

We would also like to thank the following organisations and individuals who helped us to make the evening such a success:

The Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Glasgow

Fiona Hainey, RCPSG Conference & Events Manager, and the team at 1599

Steven Drennan, our piper

The Big Smile Big Band, led by Callum Wemyss

Manolis Roditakis and the Small Bricks Project

Ruthie Markus and AMECA

Will Peakin, Editor of Scottish Dental Magazine

The Scotland Malawi Partnership

All of our raffle donors

Modern dental practice is very reliant on complex, highly engineered equipment. However, it is well recognised that medical equipment procurement, installation, maintenance and repair present challenges in many sub-Saharan African countries. The MalDent Project has already faced these on several fronts. For example, at the beginning of The MalDent Project we recognised that the Dental Department at Kamuzu Central Hospital was in need of urgent re-equipping if it were to be suitable for clinical training of BDS students.

The donation of medical and dental equipment from countries such as the UK to low-resource environments is fraught with difficulty. However, we have been able to resolve many of the recognised challenges by partnering with the charity Dentaid and with Henry Schein Dental, which allowed us to accept generous donations of dental chairs from a variety of donors, including Scottish health boards and other dental facilities across the UK. We were very selective about the type of chair we would accept, to ensure suitability for the Malawian environment, and all of the donated equipment was serviced in Dentaid’s workshop in Southampton. The chairs were then packed into shipping containers for transport to Lilongwe, after which a team from Dentaid and Henry Schein travelled to Malawi on two separate occasions to install the equipment. Through Dentaid, we were also able to establish a 12 unit phantom head facility. These activities are described in a number of previous blog posts.

Support from Henry Schein Dental therefore goes back to the very beginning of The MalDent Project. Time has moved on and we now have two new initiatives that require dental equipment. The first is the new AMECA MalDent dental clinic at Chilomoni Health Centre. Thanks to a grant from the Swiss organisation Fondation Eagle, we now have the funds to complete the equipping. Secondly, construction of the new dental teaching facility on the Blantyre campus of KUHeS is now underway and we need to begin the procurement process for the dental chairs that will be installed in the clinics.

On 19th May, Peter Chimimba and I took a trip to meet with Leigh Spamer, the Managing Director of Henry Schein South Africa’s facility in Johannesburg, and with members of her team to begin discussions about these two new projects. On arrival at the premises, we were delighted to see our names up in lights!

We headed up the stairs, past the Henry Schein banner …

… and into the conference room, where we had a very useful meeting over lunch with Leigh, André Wessels (Dental Equipment Service Technician) and Robin Petersen (Regional Sales Manager).

As indicated above, Henry Schein has a long association with The MalDent Project, so Peter and I started the meeting by updating Leigh, André and Robin on progress to date, including the recent graduation of the first cohort of dental students. In addition to discussing our forthcoming equipment requirements, we also covered issues relating to Standard Operating Procedures and training of Malawian biomedical engineers in dental equipment maintenance and repair, for both of which André kindly agreed to provide support. André has made multiple trips to Malawi, including for installation of the two new compressors we purchased for the phantom head unit at Kamuzu Central Hospital, and he has a number of regular clients in the country.

During the meeting Ruthie Markus, CEO of AMECA, was able to join us briefly via WhatsApp in relation to the AMECA MalDent dental clinic at Chilomoni Health Centre.

After we had finished the meeting, André and Robin took Peter and I on a very interesting guided tour of the Henry Schein South Africa Distribution Centre. It was a vast facility containing a myriad of dental equipment and products, incredibly well organised and operating under a high degree of security.

After our tour, we headed back into the office area and spied a picture of Henry Schein, the founder of the company, with his wife Esther.

We decided this was the perfect backdrop for a group photograph:

In the evening, Peter and I enjoyed dinner with André and Robin, during which the earlier conversations continued. I also took the opportunity to learn more about South Africa from André and Robin. My appetite for the country and interest in its history had been whetted both by my visit to Cape Town last year and by my recent reading of Nelson Mandela’s book Long Walk to Freedom. It was a great evening to round off a very successful visit.

The next morning, Peter and I returned to the O.R. Tambo International Airport for the flight home. From the airside restaurant where we were enjoying a coffee, we saw our plane pull in to the gate on time.

After an uneventful flight we were soon back in Blantyre, reflecting on a very valuable and positive meeting with Leigh, André and Robin. We now look forward to converting the ideas we discussed into action.

Acknowledgement

Grateful thanks are due to Laurise DeKock for her advice and help in setting up our visit.

As indicated in the previous blog post, our friend and valued colleague Professor Lorna Macpherson, a stalwart of The MalDent Project, stayed on in Malawi for a few more days following the conclusion of the recent Flying Faculty week. As Lorna continues her work with us to develop a Child Oral Health Improvement Plan for Malawi, we agreed that it would be very helpful for her to see at first hand a variety of health care and educational facilities in Malawi.

After an early breakfast on the Saturday following the Flying Faculty week, Lorna, Peter Chimimba and I set out by road to return to Blantyre. However, we took a detour to include Salima, the beautiful spot on Lake Malawi that Amir and Anneze had visited the week before. There is a Sunbird Hotel and Conference Centre at Salima which we are considering using for an international child oral health conference next year, so this was an excellent opportunity for Lorna to view the facility.

In addition to the existing meeting facilities in the Sunbird Hotel, a new conference centre is being built on adjacent land, which would also be an excellent venue for our planned conference.

After the long journey from Lilongwe we reached Blantyre and dropped Lorna at her base for the next few days – a beautiful lodge called ‘The Leslie’, very close to the Blantyre Campus of Kamuzu University of Health Sciences. I have stayed there on several occasions and know the staff well.

On the Monday morning, with Ruthie Markus, the CEO of AMECA, we set out early to show Lorna the health centre at Chilomoni, recently refurbished by AMECA, as described in previous blog posts. Of particular interest was the new dental clinic, where we were joined by Emmanuel Bravoe Kapininga, one of the recent dental graduates. At the dinner hosted by the Vice-Chancellor after the BDS graduation, Emmanuel explained to me that his home is in Chilomoni and he was keen to see the new dental clinic.

Once inside, we met with Prince Kanyerere, the dental therapist who is currently based at the clinic, and enjoyed a lengthy discussion about the further equipping and service developments planned for the facility.

From Chilomoni Health Centre we drove to the Dental Department at the Queen Elizabeth Central Hospital, where Emmanuel provided a tour of the facility for Lorna.

From the Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Lorna and I drove to the main campus of Kamuzu University of Health Sciences. We had arranged a meeting for Lorna with Professor Tracy Morse (Strathclyde University) and Dr Kondwani Chidziwisano (Malawi University of Business and Applied Sciences), both of whom have a long history of research and development work in the WASH sector. On a previous visit to Malawi, I had accompanied Kondwani on a visit to a CBCC to observe the handwashing and feeding activities of the centre, with a view to consideration of incorporating a supervised toothbrushing component into the daily activities of the children. Lorna, Tracy and Kondwani had a very useful discussion whilst I spent time in a pre-arranged meeting with Chad Morse (Deputy CEO of the Scotland Malawi Partnership) and Ruth Malluwa (Malawi Scotland Partnership).

On the Monday afternoon, Lorna and I were both interviewed on camera for a documentary that is being prepared by Kamuzu University of Health Sciences about The MalDent Project.

On the Tuesday morning we had a scheduled meeting with Professor David Mkwambisi from Malawi University of Science & Technology to discuss the ambitions we have around toothpaste manufacture in Malawi. Lorna and I were joined by Nelson Nyoloka, Lecturer in Pharmacy at Kamuzu University of Health Sciences. The work underway also involves Strathclyde Institute of Pharmacy and Biomedical Sciences. The meeting provided useful direction for our next steps.

In the afternoon, we had a very valuable meeting with Dr Lot Nyirenda, Senior Lecturer in the School of Global and Public Health at KUHeS. Lot is involved with the teaching of public health to the BDS students and also oversees the Masters in Public Health programme. We covered a lot of ground that was of direct relevance to the ongoing review of the KUHeS BDS curriculum.

That evening, Ruthie and I decided to take Lorna to The Bombay Palace, a wonderful Indian restaurant opposite Ryalls Hotel. As always, the food was delicious.

On the Wednesday morning we headed to the Health Centre at Zingwangwa, where AMECA has an ongoing project to re-develop the physiotherapy clinic and to install a ramp to improve access from the road.

It was an opportunity for Lorna to meet Young, the artist who paints all the murals on the walls of healthcare facilities that have been built or refurbished by AMECA. Lorna had already seen his artwork at Chilomoni and would see it again at Chilaweni the following day.

From Zingwangwa we headed to meet Dr Shabana Yusuf in her private dental clinic, Dental Chic. Shabana is closely involved in the BDS degree programme at KUHeS as well as running her own practice. It was an opportunity for Lorna to see a state of the art private dental clinic in Malawi.

After our visit, Lorna, Shabana and I enjoyed lunch together at La Caverna. Lorna and I then headed to The Leslie for a long meeting with Dr Wellington Chikuni to work on Malawi’s WHO oral health road map. Wellington is a dentist based at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital Dental Department, but also has a role with the Ministry of Health working alongside Dr Innocent Lanjesi, the Oral Health Coordinator at the Ministry. In total we worked for five hours …

… breaking for 30 minutes to enjoy some dinner:

On the Thursday morning we set out early to drive to the AMECA Clinic at Chilaweni, which has featured previously in this blog. The approach to the clinic along a dirt road takes in some beautiful scenery:

On arrival, Lorna was shown around the Out Patient Department by Gaston, who was the ‘in charge’ that morning:

We were honoured to be joined by the Village Chief, Mr Makwelani, who we greeted outside the Maternity Unit. Whilst Lorna was shown the facilities in maternity, I sat outside and enjoyed a chat with Chief Makwelani, explaining our ambitions around child oral health improvement in Malawi and how we would be keen to engage with local nurseries and schools as we assess the feasibility of interventions such as supervised toothbrushing. Mr Makwelani was very interested and keen to help.

After Lorna had been shown around the health centre, we walked across to the nearby Joshua Community Based Childcare Centre (CBCC). This visit had been set up through Ruthie and her friend Sue Cabon, who now runs the Joshua Orphan and Community Care charity. In earlier discussions with me, Sue had shown great interest in the potential for incorporating supervised toothbrushing into the CBCCs run by Joshua.

Sue had arranged for us to be shown around the CBCC and have its functions described by one of Joshua’s Field Officers, Steve Malasa. Steve gave a us a terrific description of the work undertaken by the CBCCs, of which Joshua has a total of seventeen, including five in the Chilaweni area.

Initially, we spent some time in the classroom where the children were engaged in activities with the carers. Some of the children were very excited to see two mzungus in their midst!

Steve then showed us the kitchen where the porridge is prepared. The volunteers who undertake the preparation and serving of the food arrive early at the CBCC to set the fire and cook the porridge. The food is usually served at about 10am and serves as breakfast since many of the children will not have eaten before leaving home.

We then watched the children pour out of the classroom to wash their hands before eating.

The children formed an orderly queue …

… and the younger ones were given assistance at the hand washing station when necessary:

Large tarpaulins had been spread out on the ground beside the CBCC and the children sat to enjoy their porridge. Lorna and I were invited to assist with the distribution of the plates to the children which was an unexpected and welcome honour.

As each child finished eating, they brought their plate to a collection point next to the kitchen, ready to be washed by the volunteers. The discipline of these young children was extraordinary.

Lorna and I were each given a plate of porridge to taste and it was very good indeed. It was much sweeter than I had imagined it would be and as someone who likes honey rather than salt on my porridge, I cleared my plate with ease!

This had been a fantastic opportunity for Lorna to see at first hand how a CBCC operates and to consider whether a feasibility study of supervised toothbrushing would be possible. As I indicated above, I had already visited another Joshua CBCC with Kondwani Chidziwisano from MUBAS last year, and this visit to Chilaweni strengthened my own view that introducing toothbrushing as a third activity following handwashing and feeding would be feasible. We were very grateful to Steve for hosting our visit so well and to the staff and volunteers at the CBCC for making us so welcome.

Later that day, Sue Cabon caught up with us for a debrief with Lorna on our visit to the Chilaweni CBCC. Many thanks are due to Sue for her interest and enthusiasm. We feel very optimistic about the possibilities and I hope to be writing a follow-up blog post on next steps in due course!

The week had passed very quickly. It had been intensive but gave Lorna a much better perspective on the Malawian environment than had been possible on her three previous visits, all of which had been relatively brief and focused on academic meetings and activities. To round off Lorna’s visit, we enjoyed a meal on the Thursday evening with Ruthie, Peter and his wife Frider. It was a great celebration of two very successful weeks, and the laying of foundations for future work to improve child oral health in Malawi.

One of the components of The MalDent Project has been the organisation and delivery of short periods of intensive teaching by external subject experts for the BDS students at Kamuzu University of Health Sciences (KUHeS). This model, known as Flying Faculty, provides additional support to the BDS degree programme until the Department of Oral Health Sciences at KUHeS has recruited a full team of academic staff covering all relevant clinical specialties.

In 2024, a UK Flying Faculty team provided a very successful week of intensive teaching in Restorative Dentistry and Special Care Dentistry. Recently, during the week beginning 5th May 2025, a week of teaching in Dental Public Health, Head & Neck Pathology and Oral Medicine was delivered for BDS 3 and BDS 4 students in Lilongwe.

The Dental Public Health teaching was delivered by Professor Lorna Macpherson from the University of Glasgow. Lorna needs no introduction to regular readers, as she has played a major role in multiple components of The MalDent Project. This was Lorna’s fourth visit to Malawi and as you will see in a future blog post, Lorna stayed on for a second week to learn more of the Malawian healthcare and educational environment relevant to the ongoing work to establish a National Child Oral Health Improvement Plan for Malawi.

A very exciting element of this Flying Faculty week was the involvement of two colleagues from the University of Western Cape Dental Faculty in South Africa. So far, the visiting Flying Faculty teams have been drawn from the UK, but the ambition is to increasingly involve academics from within Africa. This will not only build local networks and a community of expertise but also be a far more cost-effective enterprise.

When I visited Cape Town last year I met Professor Amir Afrogheh, the Head of Department of Head & Neck Pathology, who had indicated he would be very keen to support undergraduate teaching at KUHeS. When I approached him earlier this year to follow up on his generous offer, not only did he agree to participate as a Flying Faculty member but also recommended his colleague, Dr Anneze Odendaal, to deliver parallel teaching to his own in Oral Medicine. It was a tremendous pleasure for us to welcome Amir and Anneze on their first visit to Malawi.

The week commenced with a ‘get to know you’ session with both the BDS 3 and BDS 4 classes. Following some initial comments from Dr Peter Chimimba and myself, the members of the Flying Faculty team introduced themselves.

After this initial session, the work began in earnest. Apart from two sessions with BDS 4, most of Lorna’s teaching was to the BDS 3 class. These sessions took place in the Conference Room of the Kamuzu Central Hospital Dental Department.

In addition to lecture style teaching, Lorna incorporated multiple small group exercises, which were very popular with the students:

Our lectures were very friendly and interactive. I extremely enjoyed the group discussion sections and presenting what we discussed to the class.

BDS 3 student

The teaching of Head & Neck Pathology and Oral Medicine took place in the newly built Confucius Institute on the Lower Campus of Kamuzu University of Health Sciences. Each half-day session included pathology teaching from Prof Afrogheh …

… and Oral Medicine teaching from Dr Odendaal:

One of the issues with the Flying Faculty model of delivering teaching is that it is very intensive, both for the staff and students. The BDS 3 students received their Dental Public Health teaching in the mornings, and during the afternoons reverted to their normal timetable, which reduced the teaching intensity. However, the BDS 4 students received teaching during both the mornings and afternoons, including two Dental Public Health sessions in addition to the Oral Medicine and Head & Neck Pathology lectures. It is important that we maximise the benefit from the visiting academics, but recognise it results in a large amount of information being imparted over one week, so despite incorporating both morning and afternoon rest breaks it is tiring for the students.

For the teaching staff, the timetable was organised such that Lorna, Amir and Anneze all had two free afternoons. On one of those afternoons, whilst Lorna was teaching, Amir and Anneze were taken to Salima by Dr James Mchenga, so that they could see Lake Malawi. Lorna would have her opportunity to visit the lake the following weekend during our journey back to Blantyre.

It was a great chance to have a break from the teaching:

Previous and ongoing policy work on The MalDent Project has focused very much on public health and the importance of prevention of oral and dental disease. This has included development and launch of the National Oral Health Policy, carrying out Malawi’s first National Child Oral Health Survey and hosting a workshop on child oral health at Mponela. Lorna has been closely involved with all of these initiatives and was, therefore, able to provide extensive Malawian context in her didactic teaching and small group discussion work on Dental Public Health.

The discussions in the small groups were very animated and resulted in some excellent suggestions:

This Malawian context was a significant advantage and recognised by the students, some of whom commented on it in their course feedback, for example:

“I was thinking the public health content will be limited to UK data, but I was surprised that the content was including “up to date” Malawi data”

“It was amazing in a way that it aligned with Malawian context and also easily applicable”

BDS 3 students

Another aspect of the whole week was the level of engagement of the students with the Flying Faculty team. This was evident not just during the presentations but also in the breaks between lectures.

“They always gave us time to ask questions, not only at the end of the presentation but also during the presentation. They have also given their contact details for more questions. Very approachable, friendly and interactive”

BDS 4 student

On the last day of the week, Amir and Anneze provided morning snacks for the BDS 4 students, which was a very generous gesture that was greatly appreciated by the class. This is an initiative we should incorporate into future Flying Faculty weeks to help the students maintain concentration during the intensive teaching sessions.

On the final afternoon, we all congregated together and the students from both years completed feedback forms.

There were also “thank you” speeches from the BDS 3 and BDS 4 Class Representatives as well as comments from the Flying Faculty team and some of the KUHeS staff. We then headed out into the sunshine for a group photograph.

It had been a very busy and intense week. The students had been provided with a large volume of information over a short time period, but their feedback was overwhelmingly positive.

“We are thankful for the Flying Faculty’s week. We have learnt from the best. We are looking forward to having you again very soon”

BDS 4 student

As a team we were delighted with the level of engagement of the students, which had made delivery of the teaching very rewarding. That evening we celebrated the very successful week with dinner in Vincent’s Restaurant at the Sunbird Mount Soche Hotel.

The next morning, I went early to Kamuzu International Airport with Amir and Anneze as they departed for their flight to Johannesburg en route to Cape Town.

Their outstanding teaching together with the dedication and commitment they had shown to the students was fantastic. We look forward to their further engagement with the BDS programme at KUHeS and to welcoming them once more to ‘The Warm Heart of Africa’.

Later that day, Peter Chimimba, Lorna and I would be heading South to Blantyre via Salima – the start of a week of contextualisation and meetings for Lorna as we move towards developing a Child Oral Health Improvement Plan for Malawi. You will need to wait for the next post to hear how that week unfolded.

In 2016, I met Dr Mwapatsa Mipando, then Principal of the University of Malawi College of Medicine (COM), during a visit he was making with academic colleagues to the University of Glasgow (UofG). The purpose of the visit was to identify possible areas for biomedical research collaboration. It was an extremely successful visit, resulting in the establishment of a very strong partnership between COM and the UofG College of Medical, Veterinary & Life Sciences. On the biomedical front, the very successful Blantyre Blantyre Project was initiated, but Dr Mipando had also intimated the ambition of COM to set up a Bachelor of Dental Surgery degree programme, following two unsuccessful attempts in previous years.

During his stay in Glasgow, Dr Mipando and I agreed to meet at 8.00am one morning over a cup of coffee to discuss possibilities, and that marked the beginning of The MalDent Project. Concrete activities started in 2017 and culminated in the graduation of Malawi’s first home-trained dentists on 30th April 2025 – the basis of this blog post.

Shortly before the date of the graduation ceremony, Kamuzu University of Health Sciences (KUHeS – formerly the University of Malawi College of Medicine) released the following press statement which summarises succinctly the background to the inaugural BDS graduation and the many partners involved:

It was a great privilege for me to have been invited by the Vice-Chancellor of KUHeS, Professor Macpherson Mallewa, to attend this graduation ceremony at which Malawi’s first home-trained dentists would receive their degrees. These would be conferred by the State President of the Republic of Malawi, Dr Lazarus McCarthy Chakwera, who is the Chancellor of the University of Malawi.

The first cohort of BDS students had commenced their degree at the University of Malawi College of Medicine, before the establishment of KUHeS, so their graduation took place in the Great Hall of the University of Malawi in Zomba.

Once we had parked the car, Peter and I made our way to the robing room to prepare for the ceremony. There we met several colleagues from the dental teaching staff:

At the appointed time, we joined a staff procession into the Great Hall and onto the stage. This was followed by the procession of Executive Deans, then the Council members and finally the Chancellor’s Procession. Music was provided by the beautiful singing of the Congregation Choir and the rousing tones of the Malawi Police Band.

Following the University of Malawi Anthem and a Congregation prayer there were speeches from Dr Christopher Guta, Chairperson of the University of Malawi Council, Professor Samson Sajidu, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Malawi, and His Excellency Dr Lazarus McCarthy Chakwera, President of the Republic of Malawi and Chancellor of the University of Malawi.

After these remarks were finished, the award of Certificates, Diplomas and Degrees began. Between each graduate a drum sounded and for candidates achieving First Class Honours or Distinctions, the audience rose to its feet, clapped and sounded horns. It was a very joyful occasion.

The moment we had all been waiting for arrived when Dr Wakisa Mulwafu, Executive Dean of the School of Medicine and Oral Health, announced the presentation of our pioneer group of BDS students to receive their degrees. The conferring of their degrees was prefaced with their recitation of the Medical Oath. You can listen to this historic moment in the following video:

As we emerged from the graduation, the security was tight on account of the President’s attendance at the graduation:

As the new graduates began to pour out of the hall, it. rapidly became chaotic and we were uncertain whether we would be able to link up with the new young dentists for a photo.

However, unknown to us at the time, the dental graduates had been ushered out of the Great Hall early and were having their photograph taken with the President:

They subsequently emerged and our photo opportunity arrived after all:

I was delighted to be able to capture a picture with Esther Khomba and Chifundo Banda, who had visited us in Glasgow for three weeks last year for an elective visit, generously funded by the HOPE Foundation of the Royal College of Physicians & Surgeons of Glasgow.

I have sat through many graduation ceremonies over the years in the UK but this was the first I had ever attended in Malawi and I was struck by the exuberance and joy displayed by all who were present. The next two video clips provide a glimpse of the atmosphere at a Malawian graduation, both inside the Great Hall as the graduates and guests are leaving …

… and outside, as the new graduates, families and friends emerge into bright sunshine:

It was a very happy and emotional event for all of us, and as Peter Chimimba and I made our way to the robing hall again to prepare for the drive back to Blantyre we had much to reflect upon. Once in the car, we decided to head to the Sunbird Ku Chawe Hotel on the Zomba Plateau for a light lunch. I had never visited this venue previously and really enjoyed the winding mountain road and spectacular views on the way to the hotel.

That evening the Vice-Chancellor of KUHeS, Professor Macpherson Mallewa, had arranged a dinner for the new dental graduates and KUHeS staff at the Sunbird Mount Soche Hotel in Blantyre. Professor Mallewa opened the evening with a talk in which he reflected that he had been in the first cohort of MB BS graduates from KUHeS (then the University of Malawi College of Medicine) and felt a real empathy with this first group of BDS graduates.

Professor Benjamin Kumwenda, who acted as Master of Ceremonies for the evening, invited some of us to say a few words and to reflect on the progress made so far in our efforts to improve oral health in Malawi.

I was delighted that Ruth Maluwa from the Malawi Scotland Partnership was able to attend, recognising the strong collaboration between our two countries that has been a key component of the success to date.

After an obligatory group photograph …

… Ruth and I had a photo taken with the newly qualified dentists, reflecting the previous and continuing collaborations between Malawi and Scotland to deliver the BDS degree at KUHeS:

In the first post I published on this blog on 23rd August 2018, entitled ‘The Journey begins’, I recognised the size of the task we had set ourselves to establish a Bachelor of Dental Surgery degree in Malawi from scratch, and used the following quotation:

“Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much”

Helen Keller

In achieving our ambition, we have worked with a multitude of partners who have contributed in many different ways to the realisation of the BDS degree at KUHeS:

Massive thanks are due to all of these organisations and to many individuals, without whom this fantastic group of young people would not have had the opportunity to train and graduate as dental surgeons in their home country. These new graduates, along with the 137 students now studying on the BDS programme, are the pioneers and leaders who will help The MalDent Project to achieve its mission of ‘Oral Health for All’ in Malawi.

Acknowledgement

The core funding from Scottish Government International Development for The MalDent Project is gratefully acknowledged.

The work stream to build the new clinical dental teaching facility and student hub on the Blantyre campus of Kamuzu University of Health Sciences took a further step forward on Friday 11th April 2025, when the site was handed over to the building contractor, Mango Tree Construction Company. The agenda for the event was as follows:

The delegates assembled initially in the ICT Board Room:

Dr Peter Chimimba, Malawi Lead for The MalDent project, provided the background and context to the building:

In his presentation, Peter stressed how critical the new facility is to the ongoing viability of the Bachelor of Dental Surgery programme at Kamuzu University of Health Sciences and the added value it will bring to the university and the local community.

It was very appropriate that three of the BDS academic staff were present to witness the handover of the site:

The Deputy Vice Chancellor was represented by the University Librarian, Mr Diston Chiweza, who made remarks on her behalf:

The contracts were then officially exchanged and the site handed over:

Following the formalities in the Board Room, the delegates left to visit the site of the new facility…

… with various discussions along the way …

… until the site was finally reached:

A final photograph was taken at the demonstration wall that had been constructed to the specification produced by Leon Grobbelaar from John McAslan + Partners during his visit in 2024.

Peter Chimimba, Mwapatsa Mipando and I had been very excited last year to see this demonstration wall as, like today’s site handover, it had represented a tangible step forward. It is perhaps reminiscent of the famous quote by the architect Louis Kahn (1901 – 1974):

Even a brick wants to be something more than it is

The following aerial view with a superimposed perimeter of the site (blue line) gives some idea of the scale of the new facility:

Finally, to really bring things to life, a white line has been drawn to demarcate the boundary before physical barriers are erected.

At last, it feels as though the building is becoming a reality!

Acknowledgement

Thanks are due to Gift Kayuni of Kamuzu University of Health Sciences for the photographs used in this post

Regular readers will remember that in September 2022, the charity Smileawi and The MalDent Project team collaborated to send a 40 foot shipping container of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) to Malawi. The gowns, masks and visors had been issued to Scottish dental practitioners for use during the COVID pandemic, but many practices had large volumes remaining once the COVID regulations were relaxed. The University of Glasgow had kindly allowed us to use their warehouse and yard in Govan as the site for the loading of the container and also provided a University van that we could use to collect PPE from practices and health centres across Scotland .

Fast forward to late 2024 and the University of Glasgow contacted us about a further vestige of the COVID pandemic that could be of potential value in Malawi. The University had purchased large quantities of hand sanitising products during the pandemic and was holding a significant residual stock of these items in the Govan warehouse. We were asked whether we had colleagues in Malawi who could make use of the hand sanitiser … we did!

As a result of our work to improve child oral health in Malawi, we had previously been introduced to Ms Maria Soko who works for the charity WaterAid in Malawi. Maria had spoken at the Child Oral Health Workshop in Mponela in May 2024 and is a member of the Ministry of Health / Ministry of Education Task Force that is currently developing a Child Oral Health Improvement Plan for Malawi. We sent Maria photographs of the products in storage at the University of Glasgow, together with quantities, and Maria confirmed that these products would be of great value to the work of WaterAid in Malawi.

The one remaining challenge was how to fund the transportation of the donated sanitiser to Malawi. Much to our delight, following discussion the University of Glasgow generously agreed to pay the shipping costs, and the project was underway!

The container was due to arrive at the Govan yard at 11.00am on Wednesday 16th April. The day before this, I visited the warehouse with Nigel and Vicky Milne of Smileawi to meet Davy Henderson, the University of Glasgow Stores Lead, to create a manifest of the materials that would be loaded.

In total, there were 17 pallets of goods, including three different types of hand sanitiser together with dispenser units for fixation to walls.

The following day, the container arrived at 8.30am, well before the scheduled 11.00am. The contract was for a three hour loading period (11.00am – 2.00pm), so the early arrival was a bonus as it gave us significant extra time.

Once the doors of the container were swung open …

… we were ready to start loading, with the help of Davy and the forklift truck …

We were delighted that our good friend Trevor Haye was available to lead the packing. Trevor had been a key player in the loading of the previous container with PPE mentioned earlier, and he also leads on the packing of the containers for The BananaBox Trust in Dundee. After a lifetime in the transport and logistics business, Trevor has an uncanny knack for packing a container tightly and efficiently.

Trevor mapped out the most efficient pattern for the packing, with the heavier boxes towards the bottom. It was like a game of ‘Tetris’.

As the boxes were stacked, further pallets were delivered by the University ofGlasgow team according to the instructions from Trevor:

Slowly the container was filling up …

… and the final boxes were loaded directly from the forklift truck:

At last the final box was loaded and a happy team celebrated a job well done:

It was time to close the doors …

… and apply the hazard labels to each side of the container:

Part of Water Aid’s Global Strategy relates to improving hygiene in healthcare facilities. We hope that this donation of hand sanitiser from the University of Glasgow will be of value to the WaterAid team in Malawi as they pursue this strand of their programme of work.

Acknowledgements

Many thanks are due to Mr Gary Stephen (Head of Security), Mr Grant Suttie (Logistics Manager) and Mr Davy Henderson (Stores Lead) of the University of Glasgow for facilitating the donation of the hand sanitiser and to the University of Glasgow for funding the shipping costs.

Thanks to Vicky Milne for some of the photographs used in this post.

It seems very little time since my initial visit to Malawi in September 2017 for the first curriculum conference to assess the feasibility of establishing a Bachelor of Dental Surgery degree programme at the University of Malawi College of Medicine (now Kamuzu University of Health Sciences [KUHeS]). The success of that meeting culminated in a second curriculum conference in 2018 and, ultimately, approval of the new BDS curriculum on 21st March 2018, with the first cohort of students enrolled in August 2018.

That first group of BDS students has now completed the course, signalling the requirement for a full curriculum review. The process to be followed is laid down by KUHeS procedures and begins with a stakeholder meeting. For the BDS curriculum, that meeting took place on 10th and 11th March 2025 at Chikho Hotel, Mponela.

Day 1: Chair – Dr Thandie Mwalukomo, Coordinator for Curriculum Activities & Strategic Direction, School of Medicine & Oral Health, KUHeS

Following an opening prayer and introductions of all present, Professor Wakisa Mulwafu, Executive Dean of Medicine at KUHeS, provided an overview of the programmes offered by the School of Medicine & Oral Health at KUHeS. He finished his presentation with some of the challenges presented by the BDS degree programme which the curriculum review should address.

One of the main stakeholders for the BDS degree programme is the National Council for Higher Education (NCHE). Dr Ishmael Nyirenda represented the NCHE and delivered an extensive presentation covering the basis of accreditation, the relevant standards, tools, guidelines and templates used, together with the implications and effects of accreditation. In summary, the basis of accreditation (Section 28, NCHE Act) requires acceptable standards surrounding:

• Physical, human, financial, teaching and learning resources
• Management and operational procedures
• Acceptable standards of academic life focusing on teaching, research, community service and expert service

Professional programmes, such as the BDS course, are accredited by NCHE after being approved by another of our main stakeholders, the Medical Council of Malawi (MCM). Dr David Zolowere, the Chief Executive and Registrar, of the MCM attended the stakeholder meeting and spoke next.

Dr Zolowere described the creation of the MCM through the Medical Practitioners and Dentists Act No. 17 of 1987, then spoke of the vision, mission and core values of the MCM and its functions:

The MCM is a critical stakeholder for the BDS programme because it is a legal requirement that the course is approved by the Council. Subsequently, the MCM will only register practitioners who have trained under courses it has approved. The existing BDS curriculum received MCM approval in 2018, but it will now be necessary to share a copy of that original curriculum with the planned revisions shown in track changes, so that the Council can consider the next version.

The next speaker was Dr Nitta Chinyama, Deputy Director of Clinical & Rehabilitative Services at the Ministry of Health. There were some technical issues with the projection when Dr Chinyama began to speak and George Kafera, one of the BDS 5 students who had just passed Finals, leapt to the rescue – a role he would repeat on several occasions over the course of the two days!

Dr Chinyama spoke about the relevance of the BDS degree programme to two key pillars of the Malawi Government Health Sector Strategic Plan III:

• Health service delivery pillar: Increase equitable access to, and improve quality of, health care services.
• Human resources pillar: Improve the availability of competent and motivated human resources for health, for quality health service delivery that is effective, efficient and equitable.

Dr Chinyama then moved on to speak about the high level of activity at a global level to improve access to oral health care for all, aiming for universal health coverage (UHC) for oral health for all individuals and communities by 2030. The six principles of this global oral health strategy are:

• Public health approach to oral health
• Integration of oral health into primary health care
• Innovative workforce models to respond to population needs
• People-centred oral health
• Digital technologies for oral health
• Oral health interventions across the life span

The role of the young dentists who will be graduating from KUHeS over the coming years will be key to achieving these local and global goals for oral health in Malawi.

The final speaker before the coffee break was Dr Peter Chimimba, who has been such a central figure, not only in establishing the BDS degree programme, but also in creation of Malawi’s National Oral Health Policy, delivery of the National Child Oral Health Survey and currently as a member of the Task Force that has been established to develop a National Child Oral Health Improvement Plan. Nobody could be better placed than Peter to talk about the history of the BDS degree, which was first conceived 27 years ago, but finally left the blocks in 2017 and has now reached the stage in 2025 of graduating its first cohort of students.

Before the coffee break, an official photo was taken of those attending the stakeholder meeting:

The first speaker after coffee was Dr James Mchenga, Acting Head of the Department of Oral Health Sciences, who provided an overview of the first five years of the BDS curriculum. As with any new course that starts from scratch, there are challenges in the early years. These have included staffing and physical infrastructure, both of which have been mitigated and for which long-term sustainable improvement plans exist.

Clearly, some of the most important feedback on the existing curriculum comes from the first group of students to successfully complete the BDS course. In the run-up to the stakeholder meeting, that group of students had completed a detailed questionnaire and the data were analysed for presentation to the delegates. Chifundo Banda, who had been the President of the Dental Student Society and George Kafera, who was the BDS 5 Class President, gave a joint presentation of the class feedback. The general consensus was that the curriculum was extremely engaging and that the staff were very approachable, but that elements of the administration and organisation of the course required attention. George finished his presentation by saying that despite challenges along the way, he and his classmates were nevertheless ‘globally competent and locally relevant’, the mantra adopted from the beginning of The MalDent Project when it was first used by Dr Mwapatsa Mipando!

I was due to speak next on progress with construction of the new clinical dental teaching facility and student hub for the Blantyre Campus of KUHeS. Unfortunately, repeated power cuts interfered with my presentation and I was unable to share the computer generated illustrations of the planned new facility. I have included one picture in this blog post to provide an impression for readers of the new building that is due to commence construction very soon:

The final presentation of the morning was delivered by Dr Wellington Chikuni on behalf of the Ministry of Health. Wellington is a dental surgeon who works at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital Dental Department in Blantyre and is engaged in clinical teaching of BDS undergraduates. Wellington spoke about the interface of the BDS programme with Malawi’s National Oral Health Policy and touched again on some of the points raised by Dr Nitta Chinyama earlier in the morning. It is critical that the BDS curriculum includes a substantial component that relates directly to the national policy, a key consideration for the forthcoming review.

After lunch, there were two sessions of small group work. The first was a SWOT analysis of the BDS programme and the second was a session addressing the challenges of the BDS programme. Once again, both George Kafera and Chifundo Banda played leading roles.

The day concluded with a general discussion led by Professor Wakisa Mulwafu.

Day 2: Chair – Dr James Mchenga, Acting Head, Department of Oral Health Sciences, KUHeS

The second day began with an excellent recap on the discussions during Day 1, delivered by Dr Peter Chimimba.

Peter’s recap session was followed by a presentation from Mr Emmanuel Chiphiko, who is based in the KUHeS Teaching & Learning Development Centre, on the KUHeS Curriculum Development Framework. This very technical presentation defined clearly the steps we will need to take as we complete the forthcoming BDS curriculum review.

Next up was an excellent presentation on the interface between the MB BS and the BDS curricula, delivered by Dr Lerato Mambulu, who is the MB BS Year 3 coordinator. The BDS and MB BS students are taught together in Years 1 and 2, but begin to diverge significantly in Year 3. Since the recent review of the MB BS Year 3 curriculum, there will be significant work to do when we review Year 3 of the BDS course.

The final session before the coffee break featured the return of Mr Emmanuel Chiphiko, who covered Intended Learning Outcomes and Bloom’s Taxonomy.

Immediately after coffee, we divided again into small groups to discuss ‘Assessing clinical competence and professionalism on the BDS degree programme’. Once again, George Kafera and Chifundo Banda, our two new alumni, showed great initiative in facilitating the group work and reporting back in the plenary session.

One of the elements of the BDS course that has proved particularly challenging is the research methodology component, which requires identification of a research question, writing a protocol, making a submission to the KUHeS Research Ethics Committee, collecting data and delivering a research report. This work is spread over Years 3 and 4. Dr Loti Nyirenda, from the School of Global and Public Health, oversees this module and gave some very clear, practical suggestions on modifications to its delivery that would facilitate its completion by the BDS students in a timely fashion.

The final session of the meeting on the last afternoon included one presentation on opportunities for outreach and community engagement for BDS students …

… and a heated discussion about multiple entry and exit targets for the BDS degree programme. The formal proceedings closed with a prayer.

The meeting concluded with a photograph of George Kafera and Chifundo Banda, our two alumni, with the BDS teaching staff who were present at the meeting. It was a very happy ending to a positive and fruitful BDS curriculum stakeholder meeting.

The hard work now begins. Once the notes from the stakeholder meeting are made available, an extended departmental meeting, held over several days, will be required to draft the suggested changes to the BDS curriculum for presentation to the School of Medicine & Oral Health. This will be followed by scrutiny from two further committees before final presentation to KUHeS Senate for approval.

There’s a lot to do, but the review process offers a great opportunity for further evolution and enhancement of what all present at the stakeholder meeting agreed is fundamentally a very sound curriculum.

Acknowledgements

The support of Ms Walusungu Nkhwazi, Ms Annie Mwapasa and Ms Madalitso Kaphamtengo with organisation and running of the meeting is gratefully acknowledged.