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MSF, other health authorities celebrate Noma Day
MSF, other health authorities celebrate Noma Day
By: Our Reporter
Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), health authorities, and other stakeholders mark this year’s National Noma Day and Scientific Conference taking place in Abuja on 10th & 11th December with the theme “Listing of noma as Neglected Tropical Disease, What Next?”. The 2024 National Noma Day is particularly significant, as it is the first event since the disease was included on the WHO List of NTDs.
“The inclusion in the WHO’s list of NTDs is an important step, but not the final one. This recognition got noma and noma survivors the attention they deserve, but that attention needs to be maintained and translated into real measures to achieve its elimination. The global health community and donors must continue to prioritize treatment efforts and research to eventually see an end to noma worldwide,” says Mark Sherlock, MSF Health Program Manager.
MSF has consistently collaborated with health authorities and various stakeholders to commemorate Noma Day in Sokoto, northwest Nigeria, and at the national level in Abuja. Nigeria is the only country among the 10 in the WHO Regional Noma Control Programme that observes National Noma Day every year.
The observance of Noma Day aims to raise awareness about the disease, combat the stigma associated with it, and highlight specialized activities related to noma, ensuring that patients have access to the necessary services.
Noma is a preventable and treatable disease that primarily affects people living in poverty, especially young children, and is linked to malnutrition and unsanitary living conditions. The disease usually afflicts individuals in isolated communities with limited access to healthcare and vaccinations. It begins as gum inflammation but can rapidly escalate, destroying facial tissues and bones. Few other infectious diseases cause such rapid fatalities. Untreated, up to 90 percent of those affected may die, often within a few weeks. The 10 percent who survive are frequently left with severe facial disfigurement, impacting their ability to eat, speak, see, or breathe, and they often face stigma due to their appearance.
In 2020, MSF, together with other organizations, noma survivors, and the Nigeria Ministry of Health, launched an international campaign to raise awareness about noma and add noma to the WHO NTDs list. After three years of intense advocacy and communication efforts and the engagement of 30 other nations, noma was officially added as the 21st disease on the WHO NTDs List. One year on, MSF continues to prioritize efforts tackling the disease.
“MSF is focusing on three pillars. The first is to integrate noma screening and treatment in MSF projects around the world, enhancing early recognition and treatment of noma. We want children in endemic countries to be screened for noma at the first sign of symptoms when lives can still be saved. Secondly, MSF is calling for more research into the disease, specifically in the causes of noma and the global epidemiology. Finally, MSF is advocating for the global health community and donors to prioritize the disease and to ensure efforts are made to eventually eliminate noma globally”. Mark Sherlock, MSF Health Program Manager.
The three-year campaign was largely led by the noma survivors, who shared their experiences to convey a simple yet crucial message: noma is a preventable and treatable disease that should no longer exist.
“A year ago, noma was included in the WHO list of Neglected Tropical Diseases, and this is the result of our collective efforts. We have done it together, and I’m sure we can do more starting today. We can bring positive change to the lives of people affected by noma, the ones at risk, and their communities.’ Mulikat Okanlawon, noma advocate and cofounder of Elysium, the first noma survivors’ association.
Since 2014, MSF has supported the Nigerian Ministry of Health’s Sokoto Noma Hospital in northwest Nigeria by providing reconstructive surgery, nutritional support, mental health services, and outreach activities. In these ten years, MSF’s surgical team has performed 1,481 surgeries on 953 patients. MSF conducts specialized and free reconstructive surgeries for noma survivors every four months, targeting around 40 patients per surgical intervention with a team of international and national surgeons and anesthetists.
A year ago, the global community made an important step to bring more public attention to help vulnerable communities who are affected by the disease—progress must not stop there. With continued efforts into the early detection and treatment of the disease, along with more funding for global research, noma could be eliminated.
MSF, other health authorities celebrate Noma Day
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19 kidnapped victims regain freedom in Katsina under peace deal
19 kidnapped victims regain freedom in Katsina under peace deal
By: Zagazola Makama
Nineteen persons abducted by bandits in Katsina State have regained their freedom following the ongoing peace accord under the Operation Safe Corridor Initiative.
The victims, comprising men and women from Sabuwa and Funtua Local Government Areas, were released on Thursday morning at Innono Jigo Village in Sabuwa LGA as part of reconciliation efforts with repentant bandits.
They include Safaratu Basiru, 27, Jamila Auwalu, 22, and 17 others who had been held in captivity for several weeks.
Local officials and community leaders received the freed victims and conveyed them to Haske Private Health Centre, Sabuwa, for medical examination before reuniting them with their families.
Authorities in the area said the situation was being closely monitored as part of sustained efforts to consolidate peace and stability in the state.
19 kidnapped victims regain freedom in Katsina under peace deal
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Gov. Uba Sani Says No Citizens Should be Pushed into Poverty Seeking Essential Medical Care
Gov. Uba Sani Says No Citizens Should be Pushed into Poverty Seeking Essential Medical Care
…Pate Calls for National Consensus on Prioritizing Health Care
By: Michael Mike
Kaduna State Governor, Uba Sani has advocated for access to affordable medical care for all Nigerians, insisting that no citizens should be pushed into poverty for seeking essential medical care.
The Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Dr. Ali Pate also called for national consensus on prioritizing healthcare system in the country.
Speaking at a High-Level Health Media Dialogue with Media Executives in Nigeria with theme: “Escalating Executive and Media Action for Health Accountability and Financing,” on Thursday in Abuja, Kaduna State governor said: “We believe no Nigerian family should be pushed into poverty by seeking essential medical care. Here, equity is not rhetoric for us. It is a principle of governance and justice…”

Sani, while noting that health facilities have been elevated in all parts of Kaduna state, said these landmark facilities significantly reduces the need for medical tourism, lessening the financial and emotional burdens in families.
He noted that emergency care is given priority, said: “We have launched the Kaduna State Emergency Medical Services ambulance system,” which has ensured that countless lives ensuring that urgent intervention reach patient within critical calling hour.
He added that: “Our consensus, as of today in Kaduna, the government has made it free for every emergency case in the first 24 or 48 hours without paying a penny, every patient will be treated free the first 48 hours in Kaduna,”
On his part, Pate said the issue of health affordability is universal and Nigerians need to know that the federal government is working on this.
He said: “There is real pain of affordability. Half of the world’s population doesn’t have access to basic healthcare services, not only in Nigeria, but we tend to self flagellate and not build a consensus to fix it, because it takes national consensus. It’s not a technical issue.
“Fixing health is not just a technical issue because we have had technical expertise for a very long time. It’s not also purely technocratic in terms of just having the right actors that know how to manage doing fundamentally, it’s a political choice that is reflective of political consensus within a country. It is when a country does not build a consensus on the prioritization of health or of education that it doesn’t allocate the resources or use the resources in that right way. And that goes beyond government.”
He noted that with the new tax reform has offered an opportunity for health to be adequately funded in the country.
Also speaking, the Country Director, Gates Foundation Nigeria Uche Amaonwu, said the health of our mothers, children and families, and by extension Nigeria’s human capital depends on what we do next for primary health care.
He assured that the Gates Foundation remains deeply committed to working alongside government and partners to ensure that every Nigerian family can rely on a strong, well financed primary healthcare system.
Earlier in her welcome speech, the Executive Director. International Society of Media in Public Health, Mrs. Moji Makanjuola reiterated the importance of budgeting adequately to health sector
She said “while we acknowledge the remarkable progress made, we must also confront — with courage and compassion — the realities reflected in our health indices.”
She said according to the 2023 Nigeria Demographic and Health Survey (NDHS), Nigeria still records one of the highest maternal mortality ratios in the world at 512 deaths per 100,000 live births, and an under-five mortality rate of 102 deaths per 1,000 live births. These figures translate to approximately 82,000 Nigerian women dying annually due to pregnancy-related causes, and one in every ten Nigerian children dying before the age of five.
“These statistics are not meant to indict but to inspire — to spotlight the urgency for deeper reforms, more coordinated investments, and sustained accountability. They also highlight why our collective focus on strengthening PHC systems remains both timely and essential.
“Primary Health Care Centres (PHCs) represent the bedrock of Universal Health Coverage (UHC) — the first and most critical point of contact for millions of Nigerians, especially those in rural and underserved communities. Yet, data from the National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA) reveals that only 20% of the over 30,000 PHCs nationwide are fully functional.
“When PHCs work — maternal and child mortality declines, immunization coverage improves, productivity rises, and the cycle of poverty linked to ill health is broken. Our task, therefore, is not merely to acknowledge these challenges but to transform them into opportunities for lasting change.”
Gov. Uba Sani Says No Citizens Should be Pushed into Poverty Seeking Essential Medical Care
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Four killed, others displaced as communal clash erupts in Niger community
Four killed, others displaced as communal clash erupts in Niger community
By: Zagazola Makama
Four persons have been confirmed dead following a violent communal clash between Nupe and Fulani residents in Ezhigi village, Edati Local Government Area of Niger State.
Zagazola Makama report that the conflict began on Oct. 21, 2025, when a yet-to-be-identified Nupe man from Ezhigi had an altercation with one Jibril Adamu, a Fulani herder, for reasons yet to be ascertained.
During the dispute, Jibril allegedly attacked the Nupe man with a machete, inflicting deep injuries. The victim was rushed to the General Hospital, Kutigi, where he later died on Oct. 22 while receiving treatment.
The death of the victim reportedly triggered a reprisal attack by Nupe youths, who stormed the Fulani camp in the same village, killed four Fulani residents, and set their settlement ablaze.
Police personnel from Enagi Division swiftly mobilised to the scene and restored normalcy.
The command confirmed that one suspect, Jibril Adamu, had been arrested, while investigation was ongoing to track other perpetrators and prevent further escalation.
Four killed, others displaced as communal clash erupts in Niger community
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