April 2008

THE KIKUYU HOSPITAL DENTAL CLINIC

The Kikuyu Hospital Dental Clinic (www.kikuyuhospitaldentalclinic.org), a new and modern facility located near Nairobi, Kenya and supported by the ICD USA Section, has gone from dream to reality. The clinic provides immediate, comprehensive, and preventive dental services to the public with an emphasis on the poorest segments of society, reports ICD Fellow, Dr. Bill Hunter, a pediatric dentist from Fargo, North Dakota.

As you may have heard in media reports over the last few months there was great turmoil in Kenya following the December 27th election. The post-election violence resulted in the death of over a thousand people and displaced 500,000 people. It tarnished Kenya's reputation as one of Africa's most stable countries. The situation, however, has stabilized and the political factions are working on resolving their differences, sharing power, and living in peace.

Kenyan children orphaned by AIDS attend this school while the relatives who raise them are at work. It is one of many outreach facilities to be helped by the new dental clinic. Photo by Dr. William A. Hunter

We are happy to report the clinic building is unharmed, is actively providing dental services and has created access to dental care for approximately half million Kenyans. Just think -- there are 7000 children within walking distance of the clinic. One of Kenya's 700 dentists, Dr. Nelson Malenya, has been hired to run the dental unit and two other dentists have been hired on a part-time basis to assist him. Your ICD and its members have helped financially to furnish two treatment rooms and the sterilization room. Four of the eight treatment rooms are fully equipped and more treatment rooms will receive new A-dec equipment soon. A container will be shipped in May from Fargo, ND with equipment and supplies. Fundraising efforts to complete the project are ongoing and the Clinic welcomes any and all support, including volunteers to provide services or dental educational training.

Outreach efforts to schools, orphanages, the elderly and remote villages are being developed. The University of Nairobi Dental School has indicated an interest to use this facility as a graduate training facility and to make the clinic a pediatric dental center. Students from the University of Michigan Dental School plan to travel to Kenya for a two-week externship at the clinic at the end of July going into August. It is the dream that this partnership will result in yearly exchanges of dental students to and from Kenya. The opportunities to exchange dental knowledge and establish friendships in this third-world country are very exciting. It is impossible to know where all this leads, however, the possibilities are endless. The ICD and its membership can be proud of this effort and the impact this is making in improving dental health in the world.

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