Alexandria, Va., USA – The International and American Associations for Dental Research (IADR/AADR) have published the proceedings from the IADR symposium titled “Oral Health Inequalities in Africa and the Middle-East Region,” which took place June 24, 2014, in Cape Town, South Africa. This symposium was held in conjunction with the 92nd General Session of the IADR. The proceedings are published in the July issue of the IADR/AADR Advances in Dental Research, an E-supplement to the Journal of Dental Research. Eino Honkala, Kuwait University, served as a guest editor of this Advances issue.
The symposium prepared a suitable situation analysis of the inequalities related to oral health in the Africa/Middle East Region by forming task groups for the different areas suggested by the IADR Global Oral Health Inequalities Research Network. The Task Groups identified and reviewed the existing knowledge bases and key gaps in knowledge and regional variations; priorities for both basic and applied research; and a five-year research agenda and goals for improvements in oral health and reducing inequalities in the IADR Africa/Middle East Region, with particular reference to inequalities between and within countries.
“These reviews will be important to policymakers for investments in research, capacity building, risk factor reduction and health promotion aimed at reducing oral health inequalities in Africa and the Middle East,” said Guest Editor Eino Honkala. A companion editorial to the Advances issue can be found in the July Issue of the Journal of Dental Research authored by Dr. Honkala as well as Drs. Aubrey Sheiham and David Williams highlighting the impact this work is having on the Africa and Middle East Region.
The symposium was made possible through support from the Borrow Milk Foundation and the IADR Regional Development Program. To read the proceedings from the Oral Health Inequalities in Africa and the Middle-East Region symposium, please visit https://adr.sagepub.com or contact Ingrid L. Thomas at ithomas@iadr.org to request PDFs of the articles.
