WHO, UNEP, West African nations unveil phase out plans for mercury fillings – EnviroNews

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West African governments, international agencies, and health and environment experts from around the world met in Dakar, Senegal, to prepare the end of use of mercury-based dental fillings in Africa.

The governments of Senegal, Ghana, Togo, Burkina Faso, and Mauritania explained their plans to rid their nations and the entire Continent of this toxic relic of colonialism and move dentistry into the modern era.  Ghana, for example, explained how it will have mercury-free dentistry by 2030.

On November 7, 2025, in Geneva, the world of nations unanimously adopted the African Amendment to Phase Out Amalgam, inscribing into international law, via the Minamata Convention on Mercury, the end date for dental amalgam to be 2034.

“The united African nations spearheaded the end of the dental mercury era,” said Charlie Brown of the World Alliance for Mercury-Free Dentistry.

Representing the World Alliance for Mercury-Free Dentistry at the Dakar conference was Maimouna Diene of Pan Afrique, Senegal. Also participating was Dr. Dominique Bally of the African Centre for Environmental Health, Côte d’Ivoire, and Florian Schulze of the European Network for Environmental Medicine, Germany.

Mr. Schulze, joined by Eisaku Toda of the Minamata Convention on Mercury Secretariat and Dr. Gabriela Sardon of the World Health Organisation (WHO), presented guidance on developing national action plans to phase out dental amalgam. Nations which have not phased out amalgam must present their plan for doing so to the Minamata Secretariat by the end of 2027.

Since the Bangkok Declaration of 2024, WHO has made the amalgam phase out a global priority. Led by Dr. Yuka Makino in its African headquarters in Brazzaville, WHO is working closely with African government to transition as rapidly as possible.

The Minamata Convention requires, since 2023, the end of dental amalgam for children and for women who are pregnant and breastfeeding. Despite world public opinion and the law of the Minamata Convention on Mercury, the resistant World Dental Federation, leader of the dental mercury lobby, does not ask its members to stop implanting mercury fillings in children.