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