The Cleft and Facial Deformity Foundation (CFDF) has called for the urgent establishment of a school of dentistry at the University of Abuja (Uniabuja).
The Executive Director of CFDF, Dr Seidu Bello, made the call at the opening ceremony of Team 27’s free cleft and facial deformity surgery programme organised by the foundation at the University of Abuja Teaching Hospital (UATH), Gwagwalada.
He said, “There is an urgent need to establish a school of dentistry at the University of Abuja. This is presently lacking despite the rapid expansion of the school and other branches of medical sciences.”
He noted that effective management of facial diseases required continued production of maxillofacial surgeons – a specialty of dentistry – who were in short supply nationwide.
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He further said that with a little less than 200 specialists in Nigeria, the establishment of a school of dentistry at the university became easy, utilising already existing medical training infrastructure, adding that the school “will reinforce postgraduate training of specialist maxillofacial surgeons at the teaching hospital.”
Dr Bello further noted that CFDF which was established 11 years ago had created awareness about the scourge of facial deformities in various communities, and operated over 5,000 out of about 7,000 patients.
He said the 27th edition of the programme witnessed a massive turnout of patients with different kinds of facial deformities from different states.
The medical expert disclosed that the foundation also wished to establish a specialist hospital where indigent patients with facial diseases could receive succour.
The Executive Director, TY Danjuma Foundation, Gima Forje, said the foundation supported medical outreaches in Nigeria so that people who were in rural communities could access quality healthcare.
He noted that the cost of complex surgeries were usually beyond the reach of poor Nigerians and said that was why the foundation partnered organisations like CFDF to bring care to the less privileged.
The Chief Medical Director (CMD) of UATH, Professor Bissallah Ekele, commended the TY Danjuma Foundation and CFDF for providing the resources and personnel for the free surgeries.
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