Rural Rwanda Dental (RRD) builds sustainability through education. Our pilot program was in June, 2010 thanks to the efforts of Dr. Larry Warren, Dr. Marcus Gottlieb, and myself. With Rwanda support from dental therapists John Berchmans Habimana and Jean Claude Rukundo and community facilitator Bertin Gakombe, we focused on training four nurses from two community health centers in rural Rwanda to perform simple extractions, basic cleanings, and teaching prevention. To date, these four nurses have impacted nearly 2,000 people.
We have built this model consulting with and supported by: Kenya Medical Mission, John C. Lincoln Children’s Dental Clinic; Arizona Dental Association; People to People Citizen Ambassadors; Kigali Health Institute Dental Clinic Center; Dentaid; Deseret International Foundation; Academy of LDS Dentists; The Access Project; Rwanda Works; Project Cure; EOS Visions: Rwanda, Millennium Villages; Art of Conservation; Hu Friedy; Mountain Gorilla Veterinary Project; Hesperian Publishing; University of Nebraska Medical Center College of Dentistry; University of Nebraska College of Masters of Business Administration; California Dental Association; Ahmed Naguib and Jessica McGhie, Peace Corps volunteers; and Karen Sokal-Gutierrez, MD, MPH, UC Berkeley-UCSF Joint Medical Program.
Dr. Drew Cahoon partnered with RRD in December, 2010. After four successful years in Uganda, Dr. Cahoon has developed a solid foothold in Rwanda since February, 2009 with equipment donations, community outreach, and teaching the current and past students at Kigali Health Institute (KHI) on ART (Atraumatic Restorative Treatment), oral hygiene, periodontal procedures, and equipment repair. RRD will fortify the community outreach program starting with the primary schools in Musanze district in February, 2012
In March, I was invited to participate in an international conference on “The Long Tail of Global Health Equity: Tackling the Endemic Non-Communicable Diseases of the Bottom Billion” hosted by Harvard Medical School Department of Global Health and Social Medicine, Partners in Health, The NCD Alliance, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Harvard School of Public Health, Global Taskforce on Expanded Access to Cancer Care and Control in Developing Countries, and Harvard Global Health Equity Initiative. I networked with the several faculty people at Harvard’s School of Dental Medicine. As a result of those connections, Dr. Cahoon participated in a weeklong workshop in Rwanda in May on “Academic Partnerships for Rwanda” sponsored by the Clinton Health Access Initiative, Partners in Health, and the Rwanda Ministry of Health that charted a seven year plan to improve all facets of health care. Dr. Cahoon and I will work closely with Harvard School of Dental Medicine, University of Maryland School of Dentistry, and KHI to bolster the oral health component.
Because of our work in Rwanda, I was asked to lead an oral health delegation with People to People Citizen Ambassador Program to Rwanda in October. We will look at the dental education system, governmental support of dentistry, urban dentistry, hospital dental delivery, and our program in the rural areas
Our next program will be in February, 2012 where our team will emphasize prevention: teaching children, teachers, community health workers, and nurses on the importance of proper tooth brushing, proper nutrition, fluoride varnish, ART, and sealants.
I continue to recruit potential volunteers from church groups, Rotary clubs, Academy of General Dentistry, and dental and hygiene schools. Dr. Warren and Dr. Gottlieb have helped me recruit at dental conventions and dental study clubs. We may have as many as seven volunteers for our February, 2012 team.
Respectively submitted,
Richard T. Reckmeyer, DDS, MBA
Executive Director
http://www.rrdental.org/
