Support for dental outreach in Ethiopia

The MERGED initiative is designed to be a long-term effort to improve the AAU College of Dental Sciences’ didactic curriculum, clinical care abilities and research programmes. The continuing goals of this activity include basic science curriculum development, improved access to dental specialty training and creation of a research database for Addis Ababa University to systematically document their research efforts. In addition, this initiative aims to create a sustainable collaboration with the University of Michigan’s School of Dentistry to allow the AAU College of Dental Sciences to better serve their nation.

“Currently, around 100m Ethiopians are served by less than 200 dentists. The lack of health professionals is evident and strengthening the ability of Addis Ababa University to educate students to become competent dental professionals will have a significant positive effect on the country’s population”, said David Brzezinski, from the department of anatomical science at the University of Michigan Medical School. He leads the MERGED initiative and is supported by Diane Chang, a member of the hospital dentistry department, and by Sheri McCormack, a student.