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.
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