A CORRESPONDENT
DIBRUGARH: The Government Dental College, Dibrugarh, hosted a pivotal Co-Development Workshop for Model M1 under Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR)-initiated and funded Anant Muskaan Project, a national multi-site implementation research initiative focused on promoting primary school-based tooth brushing and oral health education.
This workshop was graced by the presence of Dr Nitika Monga, Program Officer of Anant Muskaan Project, and Scientist E, ICMR Headquarters, New Delhi, underscoring the national importance of the project.
The ICMR Anant Muskaan Project, Dibrugarh site is under the guidance of Dr Chandana Kalita, the Principal Investigator of the initiative. Dr Kalita emphasized the importance of interdepartmental collaboration to build a robust, scalable oral health model tailored to the realities of government schools.
The workshop brought together key stakeholders from both the health and education sectors to collaboratively identify root-cause challenges and co-create sustainable solutions to improve oral health outcomes in school children across Dibrugarh district (Barbaruah and Khowang block).
The key representatives (Online + offline) included Dr Trishna Borah, AddI CM & HO (FW) i/c Jt DHS Dibrugarh, Dr Samiron Borah, District Inspector of School, Dr Prasanta Kr Borah, Scientist F ICMR- Regional Medical Research Centre, NE, Dr Gourangie Gogol, Professor and Head, Department of Community Medicine, Assam Medical College, Dr Ruby Kataki, State Nodal Officer of NOHP, M/s Dorothy Baruah, District Programme Coordinator NCD, Dr Indira Neog, SDMO, Ashapurna Phukan, RBSK Coordinator, RBSK dentist, BEEOS, BPM, NGOs, and CRCCS.
Furthermore, Dr Ankita Kar, Scientist (Medical), explained the findings from the formative and pilot phase of the study.
The workshop was organized and facilitated by the project's co-investigators, including Dr Meghali Langthasa, Dr Shraddha Saikia, Dr Antarika Gogoi, Dr P Renuka, and ICMR Research team comprising Dr Aniruddha Chakraborty, Deepika Borah, Dr Sweety Boruah, Dr Bhabajit Boro, Dr Sagar Timung, Nirmaan Borsaikia, Niroj Gogoi, and lakhya Jyoti Das.
The event also celebrated field-level excellence. Awards were presented to the Best Performing Schools (6 No. Amolapatty JBS and Nagabari Mazdur LPS) in the pilot phase, the Best Performing CRCCs (Saubhik Bordoloi and Neelakshi Chetia), the Best Performing Master Trainers (Junali Kalita and Riya Mohan Borgohain), in recognition of their exemplary implementation of the Anant Muskaan project.
IEC materials developed by Team Anant Muskaan were also inaugurated during the workshop.
This project is set to make a profound impact on oral health education in India, and Dibrugarh being a key site in the northeastern region, will play a crucial role in the successful rollout of this nationwide initiative.
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