Noma is a gangrenous and disfiguring infection that affects the face leading to pain, discomfort and discrimination. This disease is neglected and unknown, and mostly affects children under the age of five who are living in extreme poverty.

Despite being preventable and treatable, an estimated 90 percent of noma patients die just two weeks after infection because of low awareness and a lack of access to healthcare. People who do survive have to live with severe facial disfigurements and must deal with the social stigma.

In Sokoto, north west Nigeria, people affected by noma can find one of the few hospitals specialising in the treatment of this disease: Sokoto Noma Hospital. Since 2014, Médecins Sans Frontières / Doctors Without Borders (MSF) has been supporting a programme in Sokoto focusing on the prevention and treatment of noma. Services include reconstructive surgery and mental healthcare, with international surgeons, anaesthesiologists and nurses travelling to Sokoto four times a year.


For more information visit noma.msf.org