Free surgery for 35 patients suffering from Noma disease in Sokoto State

As part of the community service of wife of Sokoto State Governor, Hajia Maryam Mairo Aminu Tambuwal, free surgery has been scheduled for 2 weeks, where surgeons from the Netherlands, U.S.A , Sirilanka etc have formed a multi dynamic team to operate on a minimum of 35 patients suffering from Noma disease and this shall be done quarterly in the span of 2 years.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) estimates 140,000 new cases of noma every year, mostly in sub-Sahara Africa. Sokoto state in the whole of West Africa is where there is only (1) Noma hospital.

Noma (cancrum oris) is an acute and ravaging gangrenous infection affecting the face. The victims of Noma are mainly children under the age of 6, caught in a vicious circle of extreme poverty and chronic malnutrition who suffer unimaginable pain, discomfort and social exclusion from their communities.
Noma is an opportunistic infection that begins with ulcers in the mouth that is promoted by extreme poverty. If the condition is detected in the early stage, progression can be prevented with the use of mild antibiotics and immediate nutritional rehabilitation. If left untreated, as happens in most cases, the ulcers progress to Noma at an alarming pace.

The next stage is extremely painful when the cheeks or lips begin to swell and the victim’s general condition deteriorates. Within a few days, the swelling increases and a blackish furrow appears and the gangrenous process sets in and, after the scab falls away and a gaping hole is left in the face. It is estimated that the mortality rate reaches up to an alarming 90%.
Representatives and Founder of MMAWT legacy initiative were at hand on the first phase of the operations at the Noma children’s hospital facilitated by Doctors Without Borders ‘ Médecins sans frontières’ MSF international.

The wife of the governor was taken into the theatre where a constructive surgery was being carried out on a patient and subsequently the team interacted and socialized with patients in various wards.