Improvement of global oral health--the leadership role of the World Health Organization.

Progress towards a healthier world requires strong political action, broad participation and sustained advocacy. The World Health Organization Global Oral Health Programme (WHO GOHP) has worked hard over the years to put oral health high on the health agenda of policy and decision makers worldwide. In 2007, the WHO was given a unique mandate for strengthening the work for oral health by its two governing bodies, i.e. the Executive Board, and the World Health Assembly (WHA). A comprehensive report on global oral health was prepared by the Secretariat (WHO GOHP) for the governing bodies, and the World Health Assembly subsequently agreed on a Resolution (WHA.60.17) which reads: “Oral health: action plan for promotion and integrated disease prevention” (Petersen, 2008; Petersen, 2009). This statement is a wide-ranging policy that gives the direction to better oral health of people in the 193 Member States. The WHO statement is an impetus for countries to develop or adjust national oral health programmes, and the policy is a strong support to the global actions carried out by the WHO GOHP over the recent years. The action plan for oral health promotion and integrated disease prevention encompasses several elements.