Unikin Invites Collaboration Between Public Health and Dental Medicine Schools

The University of Kinshasa (Unikin) has called for collaboration between its School of Public Health (ESP) and Faculty of Dental Medicine following the introduction of a master's program in specialization in this field at the ESP. According to a communiqué from the institution, the collaboration aims to enhance the visibility of the university. The Rectoral Decision No. 0025/UNIKIN/R/2026 of January 14, 2026, has designated the animators of the Public Health Bucco-dental Department.

The Faculty of Dental Medicine can now organize its specialized master's program in Public Health Bucco-dental, leveraging the expertise of the School of Public Health. The university expects to benefit from this collaboration, becoming more visible and robust. Furthermore, the Faculty of Dental Medicine has clarified its identity, field of competence, and relevance. A communiqué from the Public Health Bucco-dental Department highlighted that public health bucco-dental is a specialized field of public health.

The Public Health Bucco-dental Department emphasized that its field of study involves the distribution and determinants of bucco-dental diseases among populations, designing and evaluating adapted surveillance systems, and more. The department stated that while program management is a useful component of this training, it does not exhaust the content or methods. The department's program forms medical professionals to analyze and transform oral health in populations.

According to the department, public health bucco-dental and general public health are not competing fields; they respond to different levels of specialization and can coexist in a coherent university architecture. General public health provides transversal skills essential for understanding health systems, policies, organization, and functioning. In contrast, public health bucco-dental deepens these skills and applies them to specific oral health issues.

The department noted that the National Program for Bucco-dental Health and engaged structures require specialists in bucco-dental health who can produce evidence, analyze population needs, design adapted strategies, evaluate their impact, and inform public policies. The department expressed its willingness to collaborate with the School of Public Health, including sharing transversal teachings, participating in joint research projects, and developing academic pathways.

The department emphasized that public health bucco-dental is not a duplication of general public health or a simple administrative extension of dental surgery. It is a specialized field of public health centered on studying, preventing, and managing bucco-dental diseases and organizing equitable health responses. The collaboration aims to strengthen the national health system.

The initiative aims to produce skilled professionals capable of addressing bucco-dental health challenges in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. By working together, the School of Public Health and the Faculty of Dental Medicine can enhance the quality of education and research in public health bucco-dental, ultimately contributing to improved health outcomes in the region.

Key points

• The University of Kinshasa invites collaboration between its School of Public Health and Faculty of Dental Medicine to enhance the visibility of the university and strengthen the national health system.