Noma The disease of the poor

Since 1997, Operation Sourire has been conducting surgery sessions twice a yearin Niger to reconstruct the faces of children suffering from a largely unknown disease: Noma.

Noma is a gangrenous infection of the face found principally in Sub-Saharan Africa, between Senegal and Ethiopia,a region known as the “Noma belt”.

Noma starts with ulcers in the mouththat develop rapidly into deep lesions.

If the disease is diagnosed at an early stage, an antibiotic treatment, as well as a reasonable level of nutrition and hygiene can easily stop its advance. And yet 80% of the patients die during the acute phase due to the lack of preventive measures.

According to WHO, this pathology kills between 90,000 and 450,000 children every year.

Operation Sourire has turned to competent and experienced surgeonsto treat Noma because repairing the consequences of this disease requires a very delicate operation. The patients (about fifteen per mission) are selected before the arrival of the team. Regular missions make it possibleto monitor the children and re-operate if necessary. A number of particularly complicated cases are operated in France.

At the same time, our teams collaborate with partner associations in orderto raise the awareness of the populations concerned of the symptomsof the disease at a stage when medical treatment is still feasible, and alsoto inform them that the after-effects can be alleviated by surgery.