The Federal Ministry of Health has joined partners and representatives from Niger Republic, Benin, Madagascar and others to launch the National Noma Control Policy document approved at the 2019 National Council on Health.
The Minister of Health, Dr. Osagie Ehanire, on Monday, commemorated the third edition of the National Noma Day with the launch of the document.
News Agency of Nigeria reports that The National Noma Day is held annually to raise awareness of the non-contagious oro-facial dangerous disease that affects tissues of the face and causes deformities.
Nigeria has marked the day every November 20 since 2017, as parts of measures adopted to eliminate the disease.
Noma, otherwise known as Cancrum Oris, is a fulminating, gangrenous infection of the soft tissue around the mouth, predominantly affecting younger persons with poor oral hygiene and predisposing them to serious illness.
NAN reports that the theme for 2019 is ‘Timely Recognition Averts Deformities.’
Ehanire said that the ministry worked in collaboration with the World Health Organisation and other stakeholders to develop the National Noma Policy Document and the Triennial Noma Control Action Plan (2019-2021).
He said it was approved at the National Council on Health in August 2019.
He defined Noma as an infectious, opportunistic disease which affects people living in extreme poverty and more prominent in communities with poor nutrition and hygiene.
The minister advised that early detection and treatment were critical in halting the program session of Noma, noting, however, that “the disease generally responds to antibiotics treatment.”
