FG Unveils N70bn Oral Health Plan, Targets Noma Elimination

The Federal Government has unveiled a N70bn National Oral Health Strategic Plan for 2026 to 2030, targeting improved access to dental healthcare and the elimination of Noma as a public health problem in Nigeria.
The Minister of State for Health and Social Welfare, Dr Iziaq Salako, disclosed this on Monday in Abuja during the commemoration of National Noma Day and National Oral Health Day.
Salako said the five-year initiative would strengthen preventive healthcare, expand access to dental services and integrate oral health into the country’s Primary Healthcare system.
He described Noma as a preventable but devastating disease that causes severe facial disfigurement, disability and death, particularly among malnourished children.
The minister expressed concern over the prevalence of the disease in the North-West and North-East, stressing the need for early detection and improved access to treatment.
He noted that the World Health Organisation’s recognition of Noma as a Neglected Tropical Disease in 2023 had strengthened global efforts to combat the condition.
According to him, the Federal Ministry of Health has integrated Noma surveillance into the Integrated Disease Surveillance and Response system while expanding early detection and referral through Primary Healthcare facilities.
He added that frontline healthcare workers, traditional healers and traditional birth attendants had been trained across 19 states to identify Noma and other oral diseases.
Highlighting the country’s oral healthcare challenges, Salako disclosed that more than 80 per cent of Nigerians had never visited a dentist, while two out of every three children lived with untreated dental caries.
He put Nigeria’s dentist-to-population ratio at approximately 1:38,000, compared with the World Health Organisation’s recommended ratio of 1:7,500.
To address the gaps, he said the government was integrating oral health services into Primary Healthcare through the Sector-Wide Approach and Basic Health Care Provision Fund.
Salako also disclosed that the Federal Executive Council had approved the National Centre for Oral Health Establishment Bill 2026 and transmitted it to the National Assembly for consideration.
He said the N70bn plan would prioritise preventive services, school-based oral health programmes, access to fluoride toothpaste, sugar-reduction initiatives and the integration of dental services into maternal and child healthcare.
The strategy also provides for training and equitable distribution of oral health personnel, improved Primary Healthcare infrastructure, stronger referral systems and expanded dental services across all 774 local government areas.
The minister called on state and local governments to domesticate the plan, while urging development partners, including WHO and UNICEF, to sustain their support.
He declared that the government’s objective was to ensure that “no Nigerian child suffers preventable death or permanent disfigurement from Noma.”
Meanwhile, the Country Representative of Médecins Sans Frontières, Dr Aldikhari Ahmed, called for sustainable funding, functional surveillance systems and effective implementation to achieve meaningful results.
He disclosed that the organisation’s collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Health and Sokoto State Ministry of Health at the Noma Children’s Hospital had facilitated more than 1,759 major reconstructive surgeries for 1,174 patients through 35 surgical missions.
Ahmed added that 114 surgeries had been performed on 96 patients in 2026, while 28 Nigerian surgeons and 14 anaesthetists had received specialised training through the partnership.
The World Health Organisation Country Representative in Nigeria, Dr Pavel Ursu, represented by Dr Victor, said Noma primarily affected malnourished children aged between two and six, particularly those living in impoverished communities.
He stressed that early detection and prompt treatment could prevent the disease’s devastating consequences, calling for stronger surveillance and improved capacity among frontline healthcare workers.