FG Committed to
FG Committed to tackle NOMA Disease
The Hon. Minister of State for Health, Dr. Osagie Ehanire has
reiterated the commitment of Federal Government towards reducing
cases of Noma disease in Nigeria.
Dr. Ehanire gave this assurance during the opening ceremony of
the 2nd Edition of the National Noma Day and workshop in Abuja,
recently.
Dr. Ehanire noted that Noma, otherwise known as Cancrum Oris,
was a fulminating infection of soft tissue around the mouth,
predominantly affecting younger persons with poor oral hygiene and
predisposing serious illness.
He further said that ‘’ Epidemiological data on Noma is still
scarce ,but a current estimate of the Global incidence is some
30,00 – 40,000 cases per year, with a mortality rate of
approximately 85% and a disease burden estimated to cost anywhere
between 1 & 10 Million disability adjusted life years(DALYs)’’.
He informed that ‘’ Noma is the scourge of communities with poor
environmental sanitation and hygiene practices, occurring as a
result of a complex, not fully yet understood interaction between
poor nutrition, infection and immunodeficiency’’
‘’Common diseases like malaria, measles, severe diarrhoea and
particularly, necrotising ulcerative gingivitis commonly precede
the development of Noma, he added.
Dr. Ehanire pointed out that it could be managed relatively
easily by administering antibiotics which would prevent or limit
the extent of gangrene.
He stressed that prevention and early detection of this
devastating disease would be given high priority toward reducing
incidence and improving the chances of those who contact the
disease.
He emphasised that ‘’ Noma can be prevented by a combination of
common measures like creating more national awareness of the
disease, reducing poverty ,improving hygiene, sanitation and
nutrition, Promoting exclusive breastfeeding in the first 6 months
of life, improving prenatal care, vaccination against common
childhood disease and above all, early detection and treatment of
ulcerative gingivitis and stomatitis’’.
The Minister lauded the efforts of developmental Partners like
the World Health Organisation African Region (WHO Afro), Medecins
Sans Frontiers (MSF-H), Hilfsaktion Noma and others for developing
some of the best strategy towards tackling Noma scourge in
Nigeria.
In his welcome address, the Permanent Secretary, FMOH, Mr.
Abdulazizi Abudllahi said that the awareness on oral disease
especially Noma was low among the rural dwellers in Nigeria, which
led to the Federal Ministry of Health to institutionalize the
National Noma day, to be celebrated annually so as to bring
together various stakeholders towards increase awareness on this
devastating disease in Nigeria.
In his remarks, the Nigeria Head of Mission Médecins Sans
Frontières-Holland, Phillip Aruna, said that the organisation in
collaboration with the Federal ministry of health had been running
a programme dedicated to the treatment of noma in Sokoto Children’s
Hospital.
“Patients come from all over Nigeria for treatment, with the big
majority from Sokoto, Kebbi and Zamfara States.. Four times per
year, MSF sends high-profile plastic and maxillofacial surgeons,
nurses and anaesthesiologists to work together with Nigerian
specialists on performing reconstructive surgeries on Noma
patients,” he said.
In his remarks, the WHO Officer in Charge of Nigeria, who was
represented by Dr. Alex, Mpazange, said that for effective control
of Noma, it required a multisectoral approach and urged other key
Government sectors, partners, foundations and individuals to join
effort to control the disease.