Nigeria aims for 2030 noma destruction
Noma is a necrotizing – or
flesh-eating – disease that destroys the mouth and the face. It mostly affects
young children between the ages of 2 and 6 years living in extreme poverty, and
in the absence of any form of treatment, it’s fatal in as many as 90% of cases.
However, where it’s detected
early, its progression can be halted rapidly, either through basic hygiene
rules or with antibiotics.
It’s found across Nigeria but is
more prevalent in the north-west, and its survivors suffer severe facial
disfigurement, have difficulty speaking and eating, and encounter social
stigma.
Although its key driver is
poverty, several other factors also aid its emergence, including lack of
hygiene, particularly oral hygiene; malnutrition which lowers immune defenses;
and previous exposure to other diseases such as measles, malaria and HIV/AIDS
which also weaken the immune system.
And speaking on the occasion of
the third National Noma Day on November 18, Minister of Health, Dr Osagie
Emmanuel Ehanire claimed that Nigeria is committed to raising awareness of noma
and to eliminating it by 2030.
He disclosed that “four states have
a particularly high burden of the disease – Kebbi, Sokoto, Jigawa and Akwa Ibom
States – and we’ll pay special attention to them in collaboration with the
National Orientation Agency and the Nigerian Centre for Disease Control to
build capacity, increase surveillance, sensitize communities and facilitate its
prompt reporting.”
Noma is also one of the 17 neglected
tropical diseases (NTDs) slated for elimination by 2030 by the World Health
Organisation.
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