The UNC Malawi Project

The UNC-Chapel Hill School of Dentistry has an extraordinary humanitarian agenda that focuses on increasing access to oral healthcare services for all people, both locally and globally. A student driven initiative called The Malawi Project is in place and requests your support in gearing up for another mission to one of the most impoverished areas of the globe.

The Malawi Project is a six-year-old program that deploys select students from the UNC-Chapel Hill School of Dentistry to provide free oral health-care services and HIV/AIDS education to the people of Malawi, Africa. Located in Sub-Saharan Africa, this country is the fourth poorest in the world as well as one of the most densely populated. The size of the population is approximately 14 million, with almost half of the population under the age of 15. Surprisingly, with a population of this size there are only 13 dentists in the country. Most Malawians do not have the means to travel or pay for the costs associated with receiving dental care. Its high poverty rate renders over 60 percent of the country’s citizens living below the absolute poverty line. Furthermore, it has been estimated that one in three adults (30%) in Malawi is suffering from HIV infection.

In July of 2009, five dental students will leave UNC for a three-week appointment in Malawi. Their mission will be to provide healthcare services to the citizens of Malawi who would not receive these services otherwise. They will accomplish this by offering basic dental care (teeth fillings, removals, cleanings, fluoride varnishes and sealants), hygiene supplies (toothpaste, toothbrushes, and floss), and AIDS /HIV prevention sessions to their audiences. Some of the places that will be visited are hospitals, remote villages and schools in several sectors of the country.