Abstract
Oral health is integral to general health and supports individuals in participating in society and achieving their potential. Yet, oral diseases are among the most common noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) in the World Health Organization (WHO) African region. The WHO African Regional Oral Health Strategy and the WHO Global Strategy on Oral Health were endorsed in 2016 and 2022, respectively, to address the current alarming situation by integrating oral diseases as part of NCDs toward universal health coverage (UHC). Both strategies highlighted the importance of research, especially the necessity to create and continuously update context- and needs-specific research; however, there is a paucity of information regarding research supporting evidence-informed oral health policies in the region. In this context, the University of Pennsylvania, African universities led by the University of Nairobi, and the WHO Regional Office for Africa initiated an “Evidence to Policy” project. This project consists of 3 phases: (1) preparation: stakeholder analysis; (2) co-creation: online needs assessment survey with oral health academia in the region and 2 scoping literature reviews to identify oral health research and barriers and facilitators for the development, dissemination, implementation, monitoring, and evaluation of oral health policies; and (3) validation: sharing findings from phase 2 through the stakeholder meetings. This executive summary presents the results of phase 3, the stakeholder in-person meeting held in November 2023 in Nairobi, Kenya. About 70 participants, including oral health educators and representatives from the Ministry of Health and WHO in the region, discussed and identified actionable recommendations based on findings from phase 2. Then, participants assessed their alignment with the WHO Global Strategy. At the end of the meeting, participants pledged to maintain the relationships between academia and policy makers and will work collectively toward UHC for oral health for all in the region based on the “Nairobi Declaration.” KNOWLEDGE TRANSFER STATEMENT: This executive summary can be used by all key stakeholders involved in creating, disseminating, implementing, monitoring, and evaluating oral health policies in the African region to leverage research and accelerate the implementation of the WHO Global and African Regional Strategies on Oral Health.