The FDI World Dental Federation is now accepting applications for the World Dental Development Fund (WDDF), which supports innovative oral health initiatives in communities around the world. The fund backs projects with clear objectives to promote and improve oral health and prevent oral diseases in limited-income areas with oral health needs, FDI reports.
Applicants are welcome from within and from outside of FDI’s network. Funding is available to non-FDI members in addition to FDI Regular and Associate members. To be eligible for funding, non-members must obtain written support from an FDI Regular or Associate member in their country. Applications are due by June 15, 2019.
Previous applicants have included ministries of health, national dental associations, non-governmental organizations, and universities. FDI seeks projects designed to benefit individuals and communities with demonstrated oral health needs. Projects should complement local, regional, or national strategic health aims within the country and be developed in consultation with local authorities and stakeholders.
FDI will prioritize projects with a prominent educational component and promising potential for long-term sustainability. Projects should focus on at least one of the following topics: disease prevention and/or eradication, education, oral health promotion, and primary healthcare.
Applicants must be able to secure additional financial contributions apart from WDDF funding, provide detailed financial documentation, and prove how the project will be completed successfully. Applications also must include comprehensive aims and objectives, specific planning, implementation, and evaluation stages, and a team list indicating each member’s relevant experience.
In 2018, FDI awarded funding to Oral Health: Well Mother, Well Baby in Kenya, which develops materials on oral health education and oral disease prevention specifically for children under the age of 5 and pregnant women who visit maternal and child health clinics in Uasin-Gishu County in western Kenya.
Also in 2018, FDI awarded funding to Oral Health Protection for the Ngabe-Bugle Indigenous Community in Costa Rica, which promotes oral health in a way that respects the population’s traditions and cultural beliefs. It organizes educational workshops on oral health for this community, located in Coto Brus in southern Costa Rica.
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