WHO Global Oral Health Meeting November 2024

Professor Richard Watt (University College London) and Professor Manu Mathur (Queen Mary University of London/Public Health Foundation of India) both recently delivered keynote addresses at the first ever WHO global oral health meeting held in Bangkok, Thailand. Participants from over 100 countries including 12 health ministers, and representatives from 35 UN Agencies and non-State actors gathered to share experiences of implementing policies to support the WHO Global Oral Health Action Plan and coordinate input into the forthcoming 4th UN High Level Meeting on NCDs in 2025.

In their presentations both Richard and Manu were able to reflect on the experiences and insights gained from the CORE research programme. For example, Richard highlighted the importance of meaningful community engagement in oral health policy and research and shone a spotlight on the inspirational experiences gained by the CORE teams working with disadvantaged and marginalised communities in Colombia, India, Kenya and Brazil. Manu in his presentation highlighted the urgent need for transformative change in oral health systems and the limitations of the current model of care. Participants at the WHO meeting were clearly inspired and excited by the CORE programme and were eager to learn more about our research as it progresses.

A key element of the CORE programme is capacity development and training. It was therefore, a great delight and source of pride for Richard Watt to see a collection of former UCL PhD and MSc Dental Public Health students represented at the WHO meeting through their roles as Chief Dental Officers, Senior Government Officials and academics from a range of different countries.