COLGATE-PALMOLIVE COMPANY ANNOUNCES PARTNERSHIP WITH NEW GLOBAL TASKFORCE TO ELIMINATE DENTAL DECAY IN CHILDREN
Posted: April 23, 2006
Establishing Global Network of Oral Health Clinics to Honor Company's
200th Anniversary
New York, New York, April 21, 2006...Continuing its long-standing
commitment to improving oral health, the Colgate-Palmolive Company
(NYSE:CL) today announced a partnership with a global taskforce
established by a World Health Organization (WHO) unit to help eradicate
dental cavities among children around the world.
Colgate will partner with the Global Child Dental Health Taskforce, a
UK-based Collaborating Center of the WHO, to establish 30 Oral Health
Centers of Excellence. These centers will implement child and parent
education programs internationally, providing critically needed
preventive dental services, conducting continuing education training for
dental health professionals and distributing 30 million tubes of Colgate
toothpaste over five years. Colgate will also support creation of a
global oral health network of national Chief Dental Officers that will
provide leadership training and hold conferences to share resources and
best practices.
"Improving the oral health of children has been a guiding principle at
Colgate for generations," said Colgate Chairman and CEO Reuben Mark.
"This partnership extends the oral health services of our global "Bright
Smiles, Bright Futures" program, already reaching 50 million children
worldwide each year, and joins us with important new partners and
resources in the fight against children's cavities."
The Global Child Dental Health Taskforce, launched in September 2005 by
40 Ministry of Health Chief Dental Officers and leading dental
authorities, aims to significantly improve child oral health worldwide
and to eradicate dental cavities in children within the next 20 years.
"Good oral health is a fundamental element of good general health, yet
the lack of access to oral care for underserved children has reached an
epidemic," said Professor Raman Bedi, Director of the Global Child
Dental Health Taskforce and co-director of the WHO Collaborating Centre
and Kings College London. "This partnership with Colgate and its health
promotion activities around the world will play a vital role in helping
to reach our goals."
For nearly 100 years, Colgate has provided oral health education and
preventative treatment to children. Its flagship program, "Bright
Smiles, Bright Futures," establishes partnerships between governments,
dental professionals, education professionals, schools and communities.
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