The Nigerian Dental Association, Delta State Chapter (NDA-DELTA), has published and launched the maiden edition of It’s newsletter titled NDA- Delta, Newsletter.
The launching took place at the College of Health Sciences Complex, Delta State University, Abraka, on Wednesday 6th October, 2022.
It was piloted by Dr. (Mrs.) Mabiaku Yvonne Osaretin, Chairman of the Nigerian Dental Association, Delta State Chapter, the Secretary, Dr. (Mrs.) Tivere Emore, Dr.
(Mrs.) Anibor Ese (Chairman of the Committee for Research and Ethics, NDA Delta) and Prof Dennis E.O. Eboh, a member of the Editorial board of the newsletter.
Speaking on the launch, Dr. (Mrs.) Mabiaku Yvonne Osaretin stated that the idea of publishing a quarterly newsletter was one of the major goals set out to be achieved during her tenure in office alongside with her executives.
This she said, was one of the targets given to the Committee for Research and Ethics to achieve.
The Committee eventually ran tirelessly with the vision and made the dream a reality.
Speaking further, Dr. (Mrs.) Yvonne Mabiaku said the aim of the quarterly newsletter is to serve as an inventory that will capture all the activities of the association within each quarter for the knowledge of all members and non-members alike.
It is also designed, to help create awareness of the presence of the association in the state and open up opportunities for Deltans to be better
informed about their oral health.
Speaking further, she stated that the newsletter is available both in hard copies and online soft copy versions.
She revealed that, the ultimate vision of the association in this regard is the birthing of
the State research journal, which the committee, under the leadership of Dr. (Mrs.) Anibor Ese is
currently working assiduously to achieve before the close of the year.
Donations accrued therefore from this launch will be channeled in attaining that goal.
Also speaking was Dr. (Mrs.) Ese Anibor, Editor-in-Chief of the NDA-Delta Newsletter;
she described the success of the newsletter launching, as a dream come true and a great accomplishment.
She said this edition captured events of the “World Oral Health Day 2022” celebration among other events.
Dr. (Mrs.) Ese Anibor stated that the newsletter is a stepping stone towards the actualization of the
publication of NDA- Delta State Journal, hopefully before the end of the first quarter of next year
hence the call for papers is discussed in the newsletter.
Amongst those launching the newsletter was the Head of the College of Health Sciences, the
Provost, Prof. Lawrence Omo-Aghoja, a professor in Gynecology and Obstetrics.
Speaking on the
newsletter launch, he emphasized the relevance of documentation, stating that it was a very
important item for associations to possess because, it served as an evidence of the level of activities of that association.
Without documentation, he said, “nobody will know what efforts and activities
have been engaged in within a given time”.
He stressed that documentation was a very important
means of evaluating the performance of an organization, both governmental and non-governmental
agencies as it may apply.
He revealed that such documentations are usually requested for in grants
or for collaborations being sort by organizations, as well as annual reports. These are rated as the
evidence of an organization’s level of activity.
He applauded the idea of NDA- Delta State Journal,
stating that it was an important means of documenting research work and findings and for
disseminating knowledge.
In his conclusive dialog, he advised the Editor- in- Cheif to work towards attaining and maintenance of international best practices in documentation, especially with regards to journal publications.
Moving forward, Prof. P.S. Igbigbi, Professor of Anatomy Delta State University Abraka,
commended the team for the initiative, stating that coming out with this newsletter which was
intended to aid in birthing the association’s journal eventually was something worthy of emulation.
He appraised the newsletter to be of high quality and a very beautiful design, this he encouraged them to keep up.
He also advised them to sustain the production and to encourage people to subscribe to it.
He stressed the need for more articles in the next edition since it was a
quarterly production, because it would aid in improving a positive image of the University institution where the secretariat of the magazine was currently domiciled.
Speaking further, he said, an academic institution grows He revealed that the reward for all the labours invested into research studies is in it’s publication, because, that is when the impact if the work can be
recognized and benefited from globally.
Conclusively, he stated that” research and publications are keys for Universties progress,”.
Prof. Dennis Erhisenebe O. Eboh, of the Department of Human Anatomy and Cell Biology, Faculty of Basic Medical Sciences, Delta State University, Abraka, was next in line during the
interview for the newsletter launch.
He said the idea was plausible and encouraging. He advised that everyone in general and members of the association specifically should learn from it while
participating in birthing new ideas because it was not an easy task.
He went in to say that, once an idea is sold and bought by members of a group, it becomes interesting and encouraging to the leadership of that association.
On the contrary, he said, the absence of members active participation in events, can grind the zest of the leadership of that group
to a halt.
Prof. Dennis Erhisenebe O. Eboh went on to further express his appreciation of the efforts of current chairperson, Dr Mabiaku Yvonne and her executives, as well as the chairman of the committee, Dr Ese Anibor and her members, for all the efforts put in to the work so far.
He then pledged his determined support for all their collective future goals towards excellence for the
association.
Speaking further, he equally emphasized the need for global recognition of the activities of the
association through online version of the newsletter and the upcoming journal of the association.
He encouraged the group to maintain an online publication for better visibility and subscription.
He expresses the fact the Dental profession requires more visibility in Delta state and in Nigeria generally for greater impact to be made in the aspect of oral and general health.
Another prominent personality interviewed at the occasion was, Prof. Peter C Aloamaka, of the
department of Human Physiology, in the Faculty if Basic Medical Sciences, Delta State University,
Abraka.
In his speech, he stated that anything big and mighty starts in a day and that this has come to stay.
He pledged his determination to always encourage the NDA, because anything that relates with our oral structures was of great importance.
He said the mouth was the major entry to our bodies
and so was really important.
Prof. Peter C Aloamaka further explained that a man whose mouth was paralyzed, or had a
cancerous disease was definitely in a serious health crisis, except a rapid solution was found.
He explained further that, feeding a sick person by alternative routes, could not be relied upon for very
prolonged periods such as in years and also does not provide a satisfactory quality of life.
He celebrated the production of the newsletter, stating that it will help in creating better oral health awareness in the state and internationally through the publication of oral studies.
In his conclusive speech, he encouraged the association to pursue the creation of a research centre
for oral studies in the university, in order to encourage more oral human studies for better oral
health and general health.
The head of the department of Human Anatomy and Cell Biology, Dr. J.I Wilson, during the ceremony said that the newsletter was a good start as far as the Nigerian Dental Association is concerned. He said it was a great initiative and that it would help in dispelling the ignorance of people about their oral health, while creating a better bond between the dental professionals and
the general population.
Also commenting was Dr. Anthony T. Eduviere, a lecturer in the department of Biochemistry, he
commended the Committee for the newsletter stating that it was the first time he was coming across
such an initiative in the South-South region of the country unlike the south-west, where he had
encountered a similar association for certified Oral Health Specialist.
He commended the
Chairman and her executives as well as the editorial committee for a job well done on behalf of
NDA-Delta state.
Conclusively, he expressed confidence that the initiative will definitely go a long way in assisting the re-establishment of the faculty of Dentistry in the Delta State University, Abraka Delta State.
The ceremony came to a successful end some hours after mid day, with everyone fully content with the outcome of the event.
