Africa-Press – Mauritius. A Mobile Dental Caravan, aiming to offer general dentistry services and quality dental care to citizens of the village of Chamarel, was launched, this morning, at Chamarel Community Health Centre, by the Minister of Health and Wellness, Dr Kailesh Kumar Singh Jagutpal.
The launching event coincided with the commemoration of Nelson Mandela International Day observed annually on 18 July in honour of Nelson Mandela’s birthday.
The Parliamentary Private Secretaries, Dr Muhammad Ismaël Rawoo and Mr Nand Prakash Ramchurrun; the Director, Dental Services, Ministry of Health and Wellness, Dr Ian Ramdin; and other personalities were present at the launching ceremony.
The Mobile Dental Caravan, funded to the tune of around Rs 7 million, will allow villagers to access quality dental care to lead a better and healthy life.
Citizens will avail of general dentistry services that include: complete exams and scaling; fillings, root canals, and extractions; and implants – placement and restoration.
In a statement, Dr Jagutpal stated that the Mobile Dental Caravan will propose its services on a monthly basis in the village of Chamarel but will also go to educational institutions and dispensaries to bring healthcare services closer to the population.
The Minister indicated that Chamarel has a population of some 1 000 people and the villagers had to travel far to avail of dentistry services. The Mobile Dental Caravan, to be serviced by a doctor, will now cater to the needs of citizens in the village itself, he stated.
This initiative is in line with the Action Plan for dental services and the Ministry’s policy to decentralise healthcare services across Mauritius, he added.
For his part, Mr Ramchurrun expressed gratitude to the Ministry of Health and Wellness for the provision of a Dental Caravan which will improve healthcare services in the region.
As for Dr Rawoo, he observed that the Mobile Dental Caravan is well equipped and will be present regularly to allow inhabitants avail of all necessary dental treatment and counsel in their locality instead of having to travel to mediclinics outside of Chamarel.
Dr Ramdin, on his part, emphasised that the Caravan will offer facilities similar to a dental clinic of the Ministry of Health and Wellness. There are, presently, a total of three such Dental Caravans and they are mostly used to provide dental services to the school population and inmates of prisons across the country, he added. A fourth Mobile Dental Caravan will be acquired at the end of the year with a price estimate between Rs 12 million and Rs 15 million, he announced.
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