Smiles & Hopes

9
Smiles & Hopes global child dental fund GCDHT Cambodia For Cambodia’s vulnerable and destitute children Background Most Cambodian children have little or no access to dental treatment, yet their rates of decay are among the highest in the world. Orphans are no exception to the case. The average 5 year old in Phnom Penh has 10 decayed teeth, and a recent study of 16-18 year old adolescents showed that they had an average of 6 decayed permanent teeth. By the age of 15, many children need to have permanent teeth extracted. Dental diseases not only cause pain and infection, but also have a major impact on quality of life. Children with painful teeth often miss school, have difficulty concentrating on their studies, and find it difficult to chew solid and more micronutrient food, therefore causing over-reliance on liquids and sweets for sustenance. Decayed or missing front teeth, and swollen bleeding gums, can lead to feelings of shame and embarrassment. These children may find it hard to make friends, and when older to find employment. For children who have disabilities, having poor dental health exacerbates their problems of speech, eating ability, and social acceptance. Teachers often make the observations that children with more severe caries tend to perform poorly at school. Severe caries are a completely preventable infectious disease. Severe caries also increase a child’s risk for adult chronic disease. Because of this, public health strategies to prevent caries – especially in children – are part of this project to ensure maximum benefit and impact for children’s health and protection. ‘An initiative to address the dental and medical needs of vulnerable and destitute children in orphanages and poor communities around Cambodia.’ Cambodia Population: 14,805,000 (2010) Capital City: Phnom Penh Language: Khmer GDP (PPP): Total: $28,092 billion Per Capita: $2084 GDP Total: $11.453 billion (Nominal) Per Capita: $805

description

Initiative to address the dental and medical needs of vulnerable and destitute children in orphanages and poor communities around Cambodia

Transcript of Smiles & Hopes

Page 1: Smiles & Hopes

Smiles & Hopes

global child dental fund GCDHT Cambodia

For Cambodia’s vulnerable and destitute children

Background

Most Cambodian children have little or no access to dental

treatment, yet their rates of decay are among the highest in the

world. Orphans are no exception to the case. The average 5 year

old in Phnom Penh has 10 decayed teeth, and a recent study of

16-18 year old adolescents showed that they had an average of

6 decayed permanent teeth. By the age of 15, many children need

to have permanent teeth extracted.

Dental diseases not only cause pain and infection, but also have

a major impact on quality of life. Children with painful teeth often

miss school, have difficulty concentrating on their studies, and find

it difficult to chew solid and more micronutrient food, therefore

causing over-reliance on liquids and sweets for sustenance.

Decayed or missing front teeth, and swollen bleeding gums, can

lead to feelings of shame and embarrassment. These children may

find it hard to make friends, and when older to find employment.

For children who have disabilities, having poor dental health

exacerbates their problems of speech, eating ability, and social

acceptance. Teachers often make the observations that children

with more severe caries tend to perform poorly at school.

Severe caries are a completely preventable infectious disease.

Severe caries also increase a child’s risk for adult chronic disease.

Because of this, public health strategies to prevent caries –

especially in children – are part of this project to ensure maximum

benefit and impact for children’s health and protection.

‘An initiative to address the dental andmedical needs of vulnerable and

destitute children in orphanages andpoor communities around Cambodia.’

Cambodia

Population: 14,805,000 (2010)

Capital City: Phnom Penh

Language: Khmer

GDP (PPP): Total: $28,092 billionPer Capita: $2084

GDP Total: $11.453 billion(Nominal) Per Capita: $805

Page 2: Smiles & Hopes

The Beginnings of Smiles & Hopes

The Smiles & Hopes Project was established in 2010 as a collaborative national project between

the following organisations: The Cambodian Ministry of Health; the Faculty of Odonto-Stomatology,

the University of Health Sciences, Phnom Penh; the Faculty of Dentistry, International University,

Phnom Penh; The Cambodian Dental Association; Cambodia World Family (CWF); One-2-One

Cambodia; the GCDHT_Cambodia and the Global Child Dental Fund

The programme aims to address the dental and medical needs of vulnerable and destitute

children in orphanages and poor communities in Cambodia. The project is sponsored by:

The Project Aims

The aims of this project are to:

• Provide basic dental and medical care

for children in orphanages and poor

communities

• Provide training in basic health and hygiene

for orphanage and community caregivers and health workers

• Provide a range of preventive health measures, which will reduce some of the

more prevalent health and oral health problems the orphanage and poor

communities are faced with

Page 3: Smiles & Hopes

The Vision of Smiles & Hopes

Our vision is to help address the needs for dental and

medical care in orphanages and poor communities

around Cambodia by providing the following services

to each child enrolled in the programme:

• Fissure sealants 6s (6-7yr) and 7s (11–12yr)

• Fluoride varnish – 2x per year

• Toothbrushes / toothpaste

• Dental Health education

• Relief of pain

• Treatment of permanent teeth (if appropriate)

• De-worming

• Basic personal hygiene e.g. hand washing with soap, nail clipping, hair care

The Target Group ofSmiles & Hopes

The target groups are orphanages

and poor communities in Cambodia

with little or no access to basic

dental and medical services.

The Objective of Smiles & Hopes

The objective is to improve

the medical and oral health

of children in Cambodia –

without bias in religion, race

or gender – to boost their

quality of life.

Page 4: Smiles & Hopes

THE DENTAL HEALTH COMPONENT

The work will be carried out by

approved partners of GCDHT_

Cambodia, to ensure best

practice and best care.

• Oral Health Education for

the children

• Provision of toothbrushes

and toothpaste for the

children

• A new brush twice a year

• Fissure sealing of first and

second permanent molars

(with GIC)

• Relief of pain (primarily

extraction of teeth)

• Restoration of decayed

permanent teeth

• Fluoride varnish 2 times

per year

Additional oral health

interventions can be carried

out over and above these

activities by the organisation.

Children will be seen twice

a year. A document with

guidelines for the above care

activities will be provided to

each organisation.

Most of the children will have

had teeth restored and

extracted, which will render

them pain-free and infection-

free for years to come.

Fissure sealants will be placed,

which will help protect the

permanent molar teeth against

decay in the future.

In addition, children will be

taught good oral hygiene

and dietary practices so

that the risk for future dental

problems will be minimised.

Toothbrushes and toothpaste

will be supplied so that the

children can brush in the

orphanages.

These benefits can be

expected to continue in the

long-term, and future dental

needs should be reduced. If

possible we would like to follow

these children for 3 years.

GENERAL HEALTH COMPONENT

Simple public health measures

will be implemented, by the

Beacon Center in line with

Ministry of Health guide-

lines.

These will include:

• basic personal hygiene

e.g. hand washing, nail

clipping, hair care

• de-worming and

de-licing, soap

TRAINING OF CAREGIVERS

Training in a range of health

and dental health areas will

be provided for orphanage

caregivers and community

health care workers by the

Beacon Center.

This will include: First aid,

Food hygiene, Personal

hygiene and sanitation,

Tooth brushing, Preparation

of nutritious food, Good dietary

practices, De-worming,

scabies and head lice and

exercise for life.

The training programme will

be organised by the Beacon

Center and a certificate will

be awarded on successful

completion of the course.

This care package will be implemented in an integrated way over a one-year period.

The Smiles & Hopes Programme

Page 5: Smiles & Hopes

Child safety is of the utmost importance and our greatest priority. We have policies in

place to ensure that all children who are enrolled in our programme are safe.

We take our duty of care seriously: we aim to provide the safest possible programmes

and environments for children. We identify and manage any potential situations that

may lead to harm.

We are committed to children’s protection and participation as per the United Nations

Convention stated in ‘On the Rights of the Child’ (UNCRC). We will uphold these rights.

A copy of our Child Protection Policy and a full report is available on request.

Commitment to Child Protection

Page 6: Smiles & Hopes

The Smiles & Hopes

programme will be overseen

and governed by the GCDHT_

Cambodia task force Beacon

Center, and the Global Child

Dental Fund.

The Beacon Center will

be responsible for the

implementation and

monitoring of the program.

Sponsors will be provided with

an information pack about the

orphanage(s) or communities

they are sponsoring. This will

include background information

about the orphanage or

community, the province they

are in and any other relevant

information.

A report will be sent after the

initial treatment visit. It will

include photos, information on

the treatment provided, health

information (height and

weight), project activities and

personal stories.

A further report will be sent at

the end of the 1 year period –

outlining the success and

the health outcomes achieved

including photos and personal

stories.

Sponsors can visit their

orphanage/community in

Cambodia but this will be

arranged through the

Beacon Center. Beacon

Center staff will accompany

visitors. They will need to

submit to the Beacon

Center a police certificate

prior to the visit.

The Beacon Center will be

the contractor on behalf of

One-2-One CAMBODIA and

the GCDF.

All communication to the

providers, orphanages and

children by either GCDF,

One-2-One CAMBODIA or

any sponsor will go through

the Beacon Center.

Governance Communicationwith sponsors

Contracting

Page 7: Smiles & Hopes

Distribution of FundsEthical Employment of Staff

DISTRIBUTION OF FUNDS

As a UK-registered and governed charity, the Global Child

Dental Fund is responsible for the collection, handling and

distribution of all funds in a way that supports the mission

values and strategic goals of the programme.

The funds will be allocated via the Beacon Center in accordance

with the needs of the orphanages and poor communities

involved, and the fulfillment of criteria as set

out by the Beacon Center.

Each recipient partner is expected to report

back to the Beacon Center on the

success of the project and the use of the

funds allocated to ensure transparency,

fairness and accountability.

ETHICAL EMPLOYMENT OF STAFF

Our commitment to child safety and

quality clinical care ensures that all staff

are recruited and selected to ensure the

most suitable people are working with

the values and ethos of the programme.

Staff providing services shall be trained

and experienced.

Each organisation will employ their own staff, as well as using

volunteers (including senior dental students) where appropriate.

Service providers will undergo a training workshop organised

by the Beacon Center to familiarise themselves with processes,

reporting forms and guidelines.

Page 8: Smiles & Hopes

Quality ControlProject Evaluation

QUALITY CONTROL

Each recipient organisation receiving funds

must report on a regular basis to the Beacon

Center, using the standard forms provided, to

include photos and stories that can be used

to promote the programme.

The Beacon Center will monitor the activities

undertaken by each organisation providing

services within the programme.

There will be a regular paper audit and

regular site visit by a Beacon Center

employee to observe first-hand the work

of each organisation.

All service providers are requested to

follow the programme guidelines. Training

and updates will be regularly given to all

service providers.

Non-compliance with protocols and policies

will affect future funding to that organisation.

PROJECT EVALUATION

At the end of the project, an evaluation

will be conducted. This will be organised

by the Beacon Center. It will look at health

gains, and include process evaluation,

cost-effectiveness, etc.

Page 9: Smiles & Hopes

We are seeking sponsorship for orphanages and poor communities from professionals

working in the dental, medical and veterinary fields.

Please visit the Global Child Dental Fund website at www.gcdfund.org to learn how

you can donate to the programme and help us help these children.

We welcome your partnership and support. As a valued sponsor you will receive:

• A plaque for your practice signifying your partnership in the programme

• A GCDHT_Cambodia logo for your practice use, for example on appointment cards

• A patient collection box for your reception

• A tri-monthly newsletter on the project for your staff and patient waiting room

All email enquiries to [email protected]

How You Can Get Involved