September 6, 2010

Dr. Arif R. Alvi (Class of 1964) elected to World Dental Federation in Brazil

Dr. Arif R. Alvi (Class of 1964) was elected as a Trustee and Councilor of the World Dental Federation which represents one million dentists of the world. The election was held in Salvador Brazil on September 6, 2010 in the General Assembly in which delegates from more than 150 countries took part.

He was voted in by more than a hundred countries with a clear majority when 62% delegates casted their votes in his favor. He soundly defeated candidates from India, Brazil, New Zealand, Italy, Malaysia and Armenia.

Millions are spent in the campaign for these elections by some countries with embassies and foreign ministries playing a major role, but Dr Alvi won the election without any extraneous expenses or help. Delegates gave importance to his candidature as the Asia Pacific Region had recognized him and bestowed the List of Honor award on him for outstanding contributions to dentistry.

This was the biggest congress of dentists in recent years and there were more than 10000 participants. The floods in Pakistan were also discussed in the General Assembly where it was decided to consider helping the flood victims in Pakistan similar to the effort done for Haiti by the World Dental Federation. It must be pointed out that no Pakistani or Indian has ever been elected to this prestigious position before.