Free Operations Give Hope to Children with a Neglected but Deadly Disease in Africa
MSF is running free, multi-stage operations as more children in northern Nigeria are diagnosed late and need surgery to survive.
- Doctors Without Borders, the humanitarian organization known as MSF, is performing free reconstructive surgeries in Nigeria to help children recover from noma, a rapidly progressive facial infection.
- Noma typically affects malnourished children living in polluted environments, with extreme poverty serving as the primary risk factor for this "opportunistic, polymicrobial infection," according to Yuka Makino, a technical officer at the World Health Organization .
- The Lancet Global Health journal reported over 50,000 noma cases across 12 northern Nigerian states between 1999 and 2024; over 500 children received treatment at the Sokoto specialist facility between 2023 and 2025.
- Ibrahim Dalhatu, 8, has undergone six operations since 2021, while Maryam Sabiu's 4-year-old son remains on waiting lists enduring pain and stigmatization due to limited hospital capacity.
- During the United Nations General Assembly, which begins Tuesday, the WHO plans to engage heads of state to raise awareness of noma, classified as a "neglected tropical disease" receiving little global funding.
15 Articles
15 Articles
Noma: The neglected disease devastating children in northern Nigeria
Noma is a rapidly progressing and often fatal infection of the face and mouth. It begins with gum inflammation in malnourished children living in polluted environments and quickly spreads to destroy soft tissues and bones. It mostly affects 2- to 6-year-old children, especially in poor communities.
Free operations give hope to children with a neglected but deadly disease in Africa - Regional Media News
SOKOTO, Nigeria (AP) - Ibrahim Dalhatu was just 3 years old when he contracted noma, a severe disease that disfigures the face and kills most of the children it infects. He had his first facial reconstructive surgery in 2021 at the Noma Children Hospital in Nigeria's Sokoto state. Since then, Ibrahim, now 8, has had six operations to help him recover. Noma is a rapidly progressing and often fatal infection of the face and mouth. It begins with g…
The Toronto Star
Free operations give hope to children with a neglected but deadly disease in Africa
SOKOTO, Nigeria (AP) — Ibrahim Dalhatu was just 3 years old when he contracted noma, a severe disease that disfigures the face and kills most of the children it infects.
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