About
42
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Introduction
Benoit Varenne is Dental Officer in the Prevention of Noncommunicable Diseases (NCDs) department, World Health Organization (WHO), HQ, Geneva. The objective of his position is to lead WHO’s work on the global agenda on oral health. Before joining WHO HQ, Benoit was the Regional Advisor for Oral Health in the WHO African region and the focal point for the WHO/ITU “Be He@lthy, Be Mobile” programme. In prior years, Benoit worked in consulting firms as a public health consultant for several years, as a consultant for WHO in the Eastern Mediterranean region and worked closely with numerous NGOs and other international health organizations. He has assisted ministries of health and health care planners in several part of the world with a special focus on the African continent.
Current institution
Additional affiliations
August 2010 - February 2016
World Health Organization WHO Regional Office for Africa
Position
- Regional Adviser on Oral Health
August 2010 - present
World Health Organization WHO Regional Office for Africa
Position
- Regional Adviser on Oral Health
Publications
Publications (42)
Background: Noma (cancrum oris) is a severe gangrenous disease of the mouth and oro-facial structures. Noma often presents in young children alongside extreme poverty, malnutrition and poor environmental sanitation. Gaps however remain in understanding its aetiology, pathogenesis, preventative and treatment efficacy.
Methods and findings: We system...
Oral health is high on the global agenda following the adoption of the 2022 global strategy on oral health at the 75th World Health Assembly. Given the global burden of oral disease, workforce development to achieve universal health coverage [UHC] is crucial to respond to population needs within the non-communicable disease agenda. The aim of this...
Teledentistry offers possibilities for improving efficiency and quality of care and supporting cost-effective healthcare systems. This umbrella review aims to synthesize existing systematic reviews on teledentistry and provide a summary of evidence of its clinical- and cost-effectiveness. A comprehensive search strategy involving various teledentis...
The World Health Organization (WHO) African Region (AFR) has 47 countries. The aim of this research was to review the oral health workforce (OHWF) comprising dentists, dental assistants and therapists, and dental prosthetic technicians in the AFR. OHWF data from a survey of all 47 member states were triangulated with the National Health Workforce A...
Background
Fluoride toothpaste (FT) has recently been included in the WHO Model List of Essential Medicines. Whereas it is essential for preventing dental caries, its current affordability around the globe remains unclear. This study aimed to analyse the affordability of FT in as many as possible countries worldwide, to capture the extent of variat...
Background: Fluoride toothpaste (FT) has recently been included in the World Health Organization’s (WHO) Model List of Essential Medicines. Whereas it is essential for preventing dental caries, its current affordability around the globe remains unclear. This study aimed to analyse the affordability of FT in as many as possible countries worldwide....
During the first wave of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, the lockdown enforced led to considerable disruption to the activities of dental services, even leading to closures. To mitigate the impact of the lockdowns, systems were quickly put in place in most countries to respond to dental emergencies, giving priority to distance scr...
Résumé
En Afrique, face à la progression exponentielle des maladies non-transmissibles et du diabète en particulier, les besoins de formation des personnels de santé sont immenses, tout comme les besoins éducatifs des patients et des populations à risque, sans oublier la population générale qui est tout autant concernée. Internet est-il une partie...
Noma is a necrotizing disease that destroys the mouth and face, affecting mostly children between the ages of 2 and 6 years who suffer from malnutrition and live in extreme poverty. The acute phase of noma is devastating and is often fatal if the disease is not treated. Without prompt treatment, as much as 90% of patients die of sepsis or severe de...
Dans les pays confrontés au noma et en dépit de nombreuses initiatives, les familles, les agents de santé communautaire et les professionnels des soins de santé primaires demeurent largement sous informés sur cette maladie. Pour aider à surmonter ce déficit de connaissances sur le noma et améliorer le diagnostic, la détection et la prise en charge...
Nos países confrontados com o noma, e a despeito de inúmeras iniciativas, as famílias, os trabalhadores comunitários de saúde e os profissionais ao nível dos cuidados de saúde primários permanecem de modo geral mal informados a respeito desta doença. Para ajudar a ultrapassar este défice de conhecimentos sobre o noma e melhorar o diagnóstico, a det...
O noma é uma doença necrosante destrutiva da boca e do rosto que afecta principalmente as crianças com idades entre os 2 e os 6 anos que sofrem de malnutrição e vivem na pobreza extrema. A fase aguda do noma é devastadora e muitas vezes mortal se a doença não for tratada. Sem um tratamento rápido, até 90% dos doentes morrem de septicemia ou de desi...
In countries contending with noma, and in spite of numerous initiatives, families, community health workers and primary health care professionals are still LARGELY under-informed about this disease. To help bridge the knowledge gap on noma and improve early case diagnosis, detection and treatment, WHO has taken the initiative to update the staging...
Le noma est une maladie nécrosante destructrice de la bouche et du visage, qui touche principalement les
enfants âgés de 2 à 6 ans souffrant de malnutrition et vivant dans l'extrême pauvreté. La phase aiguë du noma
est dévastatrice et souvent mortelle si la maladie n’est pas traitée. Sans une prise en charge rapide, jusqu'à
90% des patients meurent...
Todos os dias em África, as pessoas procuram alívio para a dor ou desconforto que afectam a sua capacidade de falar, de comer e de participar em todas as rotinas de uma vida normal. Em muitos casos, podem ser ajudados com intervenções básicas e com boa relação custo-eficácia; sem tais intervenções milhões de pessoas continuarão a sofrer desnecessar...
Every day, across Africa, people seek relief from pain or discomfort that affects their ability to speak, to eat and to participate in all the routines of normal life. In many cases they can be helped with essential, cost-effective interventions; without such interventions millions of people will continue to suffer needlessly and in some cases die....
Chaque jour, en Afrique, des personnes cherchent des moyens de soulager la douleur ou la gêne qui entrave leur capacité à parler, à manger ou à participer aux activités de la vie courante. Dans bien des cas, l’aide peut venir d’interventions essentielles efficaces et peu onéreuses. Sans ces interventions, l’avenir de millions de gens sera placé sou...
Although Africa remains the youngest world region, with a large population of children and youth, the population share of older persons aged 60-plus in Africa, is projected to rise from 5,5% currently to 9.8% by 2050. Population ageing and rising exposure to modifiable risk factors (including tobacco use, an unhealthy diet, harmful alcohol use and...
Reduction of salt intake is an important and cost-effective way for reducing hypertension and the risk of cardiovascular diseases (CVDs). Current global salt intakes are estimated at around 10 g/day, well above the World Health Organization (WHO) recommended level of <5 g/day. The sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) region has a prevalence of hypertension of...
In the context of the emerging recognition of non-communicable diseases (NCDs), it has never been more timely to explore the World Health Organization (WHO) strategic orientations on oral health in the WHO African region and to raise awareness of a turning point in the search for better oral health for everyone. The global initiative against NCDs p...
Dental caries is the most common multifactorial disease in children and has substantial negative impact on daily life. In sub-Saharan Africa, few data are available on the relationship between dental caries and the social and family environment of children. The objectives of the present study were firstly to assess the level of prevalence and sever...
En Afrique, un nouveau profil épidémiologique se dessine avec la persistance des pathologies infectieuses et l'installation des maladies chroniques. Les affections orales constituent des marqueurs de la transition épidémiologique. L'objectif de ce travail était de contribuer à la compréhension d'une situation sensible aux changements socio-économiq...
To assess the level of dental knowledge and attitudes among 12 year-old children and 35-44 year-olds in Burkina Faso; to evaluate the pattern of oral health behaviour among these cohorts in relation to location, gender and social characteristics and; to evaluate the relative effect of social-behavioural risk factors on caries experience.
Across sec...
In sub-Saharan Africa, the availability and accessibility of oral health services are seriously constrained and the provision of essential oral care is limited. Reports from the region show a very low utilization of oral health care services, and visits to dental-care facilities are mostly undertaken for symptomatic reasons. The objectives of the p...
To determine why patients attend dental-care facilities in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso and to improve understanding of the capacity of oral health-care services in urban west Africa.
We studied a randomly selected sample of patients attending 15 dental-care facilities in Ouagadougou over a 1-year period in 2004. Data were collected using a simple dai...
To analyse the oral health status of children and adults in rural and urban areas of Burkina Faso; to provide epidemiological data for planning and evaluation of oral health care programmes.
Cross-sectional survey including different ethnic and socio-economic groups.
Multistage cluster sampling of households in urban areas and random samples of par...
The International Aid for Ontology (IAO) carried out this survey of hygiene in the dental health services of 5 French-speaking African countries in 1994, in association with the Faculty of Pharmaceutical and Biological Sciences of Paris. This study received support from the World Health Organization (WHO), the French Ministry for Cooperation and th...
The International Aid for Ontology (IAO) carried out this survey of hygiene in the dental health services of 5 French-speaking African countries in 1994, in association with the Faculty of Pharmaceutical and Biological Sciences of Paris. This study received support from the World Health Organization (WHO), the French Ministry for Cooperation and th...
