WINDHOEK – More than 2 000 residents from Tutungeni informal settlement in Rosh Pinah were treated to a free dental outreach, under a programme that also targeted farmhands and greatly improved their dental hygiene, a basic health service to which they do not have easy access.
A statement issued by Skorpion Zinc communication officer Elise Namba Emuno said the free dental services were brought closer to homesteads that do not usually access such basic health services.
Scorpion Zinc partnered with the Ministry of Health and Social Services (MoHSS) and Dentist Without Limit Foundation (DWLF), a German-based NGO that does voluntary dental work in rural communities. The programme is now in its 6th year of implementation in Rosh Pinah and has been a success.
Rosh Pinah is approximately 300km from the nearest state hospital at Lüderitz where free dental care services can be accessed but is located far away at a distance of 400 km from Keetmanshoop.
Emuno said to date the dental programme has treated more than 2 000 patients and reached out to more than 5 000 residents and annually to more than 1 500 schoolchildren. She said over the years, the dental camps have improved the oral health status of patients who attended these outreaches.
Emuno stated that a lack of adequate transportation to visit a dentist at a nearest hospital is a major concern. “At Skorpion Zinc, we believe that bringing such a programme to Rosh Pinah does not cut on the cost of travelling hundreds of kilometres to seek dental treatment but brings much needed service to people on their doorstep. We believe dental treatment boosts confidence in our young ones and maintains good health,” stated Emuno. The dental programmes include school visits around Rosh Pinah for health education, screening of learners for oral diseases, dental checkups, dental treatment and referrals of patients to dental clinics of the Ministry of Health and Social Services if the treatment could not be provided during the dental camp. Patients are registered and then have to undergo a full dental examination.
In the case where a patient has come with a complaint, a treatment plan is made and explained to the patient, after which treatment is rendered to the patient.