All countries from developed to developing and under-develop to economic in-transition are faced with the common challenge of providing safe, quality and affordable healthcare. With this, the priority of the dental care ignored by the developing and under developing nations. The idea of mercury-free dentistry still just has had in very little in professional level only. Therefore as the relationship between human health and environmental pollution or degradation become increasingly clear, so global nations need to be aware of and consider this dimension. According to the national perspective no initiative has been carried out on dental amalgam in Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan, Pakistan, and India. ESDO is the pioneer organization of Bangladesh of awareness creation on harmful effects of Hg dental amalgam. However, that initiative was covered in small scale.

As the Global Alliance for Mercury-Free Dentistry have had international interventions, though it needs to create effective global impact for awareness and policy advocacy. As an environmental organization, ESDO focused it intervention on human health and environment as high priority area. It continues study findings prevail that mercury dental Amalgam is the cause of contamination of soil, water, and air. But this is not properly addressed in the public awareness campaign. So, ESDO believes it is high time to refine our approach and find the appropriate media to disseminate this information and a clear message of the consequences and the remedy.

Mercury treaty is now on the table and to be signed the document by October 2013, and going enforce immediately. So, this is the high time to inform the people and boost up the policymakers to implement the treaty. By population, Asia is the largest continent and south Asia is the huge populated region and India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Nepal, Bhutan are the major populated countries in this region and vulnerable in terms of chemical and environmental pollution. That is why; our focus intervention in this region. ESDO maintains a very good relationship with other countries as it worked with partner organizations of India and Nepal. Moreover, Bhutan and Pakistan are informed about ESDO achievements in plastic waste management, e-waste management in Bangladesh and its global interventions. Therefore, ESDO can able to carry out the proposed project in this region.

Audio-visual media: Information carries a message and communicates the message is very important, but the medium of communication is most important; it has had accepted that the audio-visual messaging is the most effective and easy to communicate to the audience. So, audio-visual message and information on hg dental amalgam can create a significant impact on the global societies and the policy change.

Therefore, this way of intervention will create countrywide mass awareness about Hg free dentistry in Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan, Pakistan and West Bengal & Assam of India as well as the globe and help to prepare a policy guideline and encourage global government to formulate a policy on use, sale and import of Hg dental amalgam and protection of human health and environment. Moreover, through this project, one or more countries of this region will become a role model for other LDCs/developing countries to initiate such awareness-raising activities and stop the use of Hg dental amalgam through the phase-out mechanism.

Objectives

• Create mass awareness and policy guideline for mercury-free dentistry in South Asia (Bangladesh, Pakistan, Nepal, Bhutan, India: West Bengal and Assam)
• To disseminate information and massage to create mass awareness on harmful effects of Hg dental amalgam
• Mass awareness through consultation, rally, film show, school awareness, media campaign
• Visualize the impact of mercury dental amalgam on human health and environment
• Inform to the audience on safe and affordable alternatives
• To develop a guideline for management and recovery of Hg dental amalgam
• Push-up the policy framework for phase-out mercury dental amalgam, and implement the treaty regionally
• Develop/create at least one dental hospital/clinic as mercury-free dentistry in each country
• Develop and declare a model country (mercury-free dentistry) in this region (possibly Bhutan and/or Bhutan)

Activities

• Public awareness in Bangladesh

Five public awareness open forum in Dhaka and Chittagong, Rangpur, Khulna, and Sylhet city of Bangladesh will be conducted. Main target groups will be the student, teacher, local elite, paediatrician, dentist, journalist, gynaecologist, rural dental practitioners, and the public representative. Video documentary will be shown in a workshop as the discussion of key message. IEC material will be distributed among participants. A news release will be published in different newspapers. Events activities will be published/broadcast through social media like Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube.

• Mass awareness through consultation, film show, school awareness, media campaign
• Prepare a multimedia-based video documentary

ESDO produced a 7-10 minute video based documentary on Hg dental amalgam and its impact on human health and environment. A documentary will focus on health and environmental effects of Hg dental amalgam and its remedial measures. Expert’s opinion of Hg dental amalgam will also be included in the documentary.

The documentary will include the following aspects: Hg dental amalgam usage in dentistry, country situation of Hg dental amalgam, victim’s interview, dentist’s opinion, health hazards of dental amalgam, doctor’s opinion, environmental hazards of Hg dental amalgam, experts’ opinion, remedial measures, and management strategies.

** Documentary will be bilingual (English, Bangla, Urdu, Nepalese narration/subtitle)

• Telecast the documentary

The documentary will be telecast/broadcast through TV channels, social media; like Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, website, online newspaper, magazine etc. Through this media, national, regional and international target groups will become aware.

• Organize mobile campaign

Five-day long mobile campaign will be conducted in five regions (South East, South West, North East, North West, and Central) of Bangladesh. IEC materials will be distributed among passerby, signature was taken from them.

• School awareness through a rally

Five school awareness campaigns will be organized in five regions of Bangladesh.

• Media workshop/orientation

Half-day media orientation on the issue: target participants of this workshop/orientation will be representative of Newspaper, TV & Radio channel.

• Develop a guideline for management and recovery of Hg dental amalgam
• Develop a policy guideline for environmentally safe management and recovery mechanism of mercury-based dental amalgam
• Policy intervention for the adoption of mercury phase out from dentistry
• Media campaign (through an event, press release, electronic information material distribution, SMS and online)
• Policy dialogue (will be continued from previous initiatives with officials, policymakers, and lawmakers)
• Petition to the Prime Minister (will develop jointly with the consumer for dental choice and sent to Prime Minister at end of this action)
• Organize a workshop for finalizing the policy: Draft policy guideline will be finalized with the participation of govt., expert, civil society, and media personnel and so on.
• Develop/create at least one dental hospital/clinic as mercury-free dentistry in each country
• Through motivation, consultation, alternative sourcing, linkage, and policy adaptation.
• Develop and declare a model country (country of mercury-free dentistry) in this region (possibly Bhutan and/or Nepal)
• Throughout the above-up activities, closely working with policymakers and public intervention

Mercury Free Dentistry Bangladesh Dental Society and ESDO signed MOU for the third time!

ESDO and Bangladesh Dental Society – BDS signed a Memorandum of understanding – MOU for the third time. This agreement was signed on a consultation jointly organized by ESDO and BDS on 27th January 2021 at ESDO head office. The whole year’s action plan and implementation of different action-oriented activities were discussed in the consultation. The action Plan includes an awareness campaign, Study, policy advocacy, Petition to Government, etc.

A Historic Moment: Bangladesh becomes the 141st party to the Minamata Convention

Bangladesh ratified the Minamata Convention on April 18, 2023, and will come into force for Bangladesh on July 17, 2023. This international agreement known as the Minamata Convention on Mercury was created to safeguard the environment and human health from mercury exposure. The red line on the traditional thermometers that shows our temperature may help us identify mercury. However, mercury’s use are not restricted to thermometers. Other products that include mercury include fluorescent lighting, dental amalgam, barometers, sphygmomanometers, mercury switches, weapons, and cosmetics. The usage of mercury in thermometers and sphygmomanometers has declined as a result of the element’s high toxicity, though. Over time, mercury contamination and poisoning have escalated into a serious concern to both human health and the environment. Between 1932 and 1968, mercury waste compounds were dumped into Minamata Bay in Japan, resulting in malformations, mercury poisoning, and even the deaths of over 3000 people. The World Health Organization (WHO) views mercury exposure as an occupational hazard and lists mercury as one of the top 10 substances that pose serious risks to human health.

A Historic Moment: Bangladesh becomes the 141st party to the Minamata Convention Ambassador Muhammad Abdul Muhith, Permanent Representative of Bangladesh to the UN in New York, handed over the Instrument of Ratification of the Minamata Convention on Mercury from the Government of Bangladesh to the UN. Photo: StarThe Minamata Bay event raised awareness of the problem of mercury pollution and poisoning. Through a global evaluation conducted in 2003, the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)
discovered adequate evidence of mercury and its compounds’ considerable global negative effects, necessitating the need for international action to lessen the hazards to human health and the environment. The Minamata Convention on Mercury, which had been in development for years, was finally approved and made available for signing on October 10, 2013. The convention’s approval by Bangladesh comes as no surprise. The Government of Bangladesh claims that by ratifying the Convention, Bangladesh has reiterated its unwavering dedication to international initiatives to reduce mercury contamination. After a year-long investigation, the Department of the Environment discovered unsafe amounts of mercury in both our air and water in 2019. Additionally, because there is no effective method of disposal, mercury even gets into food.

Bangladesh is now bound by a global commitment to forbid mercury mining on its soil once the Convention comes into effect as a result of this ratification. Bangladesh must likewise forbid the export of mercury unless specifically approved by the Convention. In addition, subject to certain exclusions, Bangladesh shall cease manufacturing, importing, and exporting the products mentioned in Part I of Annex A of the Treaty that contain mercury. This also applies to producing goods containing mercury or mercury compounds. Such items must therefore be treated without
using any mercury.

In addition, Bangladesh is obligated under Article 8(3) of the Convention to take action to reduce emissions and, if necessary, to create a national plan outlining those actions as well as their anticipated consequences. In addition, article 9 mandates that mercury and its compounds must be released under regulated conditions. Bangladesh must adhere to the rules of the Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and Their Disposal in addition to the provisions of the Mercury Waste Management and Disposal Treaty. ESDO being the pioneer organization to study the harmful effects of Mercury contamination, it has been continuously advocating with the government and different national and international organizations so that Bangladesh can become a signatory country of the Minamata Convention.

ESDO’s hard work comes into reality on April 18, 2023 when Bangladesh Ratified the Minamata Convention. A sizable number of international accords and treaties pertaining to the environment include Bangladesh as a party. Not all of the requirements imposed by these agreements have been fulfilled, though. Bangladesh must follow by the Minamata Convention’s rules in order to protect itself from the risk of mercury contamination and poisoning.