Conference to confront Noma, the 'face of poverty,' on May 22

Salt Shakers
April 11, 2008

Conference to confront Noma, the 'face of poverty,' on May 22
Noma is a little known disease that primarily, heartbreakingly threatens thousands of Africa's children each year. Noma, derived from the Greek “nomein” meaning “to devour,” is a devastating bacterial necrosis that develops in the mouth and ravages the faces of its victims. It destroys both the soft and bone tissues of the face and mostly affects young children between the ages of two and six. It is essentially unknown now in the West since 20th century improvements in hygience and nutrition.

Noma is often fatal. While a few 'lucky' survivors may receive facial reconstruction, most survivors face a lifetime of exclusion because of horrific disfigurement. It can strike any community that suffers from extreme poverty and malnutrition, and has often been called “the face of poverty.”

An international conference will convene on May 22 in Geneva to review the latest developments and strategies in the fight against this deadly disease in the Asian, West African, and South American communities where it is still known.

Afflicting often a village's youngest children, the physical, psychological and social consequences of Noma are tragic:

Damaged vital functions: As the disease progresses, the jaws become locked. Victims slowly lose the use of their mouths. The infection gradually attacks the nose and sometimes the eyes, making it difficult to eat, breathe or see.
80 percent death rate: Those who are left untreated either succumb to the infection and/or die of hunger after losing the ability to eat.
Life-long disfiguration for survivors: The face is gradually, and often atrociously, disfigured as a result of cicatricial retractions.
Rejection by their loved ones: Like lepers, Noma victims suffer from a devastating evil considered as a curse on the family and the village. They are often rejected by their own communities and abandoned to their fate in the middle of nowhere.

Since its origins lie in unsanitary conditions and malnutrition, Noma is actually easy to treat with inexpensive antibiotics, mouthwash, and vitamin supplements if confronted in its earliest stages. Sadly even these small measures are unaffordable in the poor West African countries where Noma is prevalent.

Since 1999 Winds of Hope has been trying to publicize the plight of Noma victims while developing programs aimed at its treatment and more important its prevention. The charity was founded by aeronauts Bertrand Piccard and Brian Jones, who famously completed the first ever nonstop round-the-world flight in a balloon.

The two men decided to dedicate their adventure to the children of the world and to fighting human suffering and forgotten diseases. The pilots turned their attention to Noma after meeting a young girl being treated in Switzerland. "This vision of horror convinced the co-founders that they had found their first cause: Noma, the symbol of little-known diseases that can be fought effectively with basic means."

Winds of Hope has been funding an anti-Noma campaign in Benin, where victims are mostly under the age of six, although some are as old as 15, according to the head of the Noma project for the ministry of health, Sylvie Bankol Pognon.

Benin's government has registered 57 cases since 2007, she said although the real number is likely higher. "We still need to do a [proper] evaluation," Pognon said.

At least two of the 57 children are HIV positive, Pognon said. "HIV increases the risk [of Noma] because it opens the door to all sorts of infections."

So far, the project she runs lacks any government funding, she added. "The only support we get is from donatives," she said, naming the Winds of Hope and the UN World Health Organisation.

Early detection is key but for that health workers and traditional healers need training, and the community, particular mothers, need to be made aware of how to detect the disease. "[They must] be able to recognize the first signs of Noma and take [the child] to the nearest hospital," Pognon said.

For more:
WHO-Noma
Winds of Hope
International No Noma Federation

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