The Federal Government has raised alarm that Noma disease is silently killing Nigerians, particularly in the northwestern states of Kebbi, Sokoto, Jigawa and other states outside the northwest, notably Akwa Ibom.
Noma disease, also known as cancrum oris, is an infectious disease that is associated with people living in extreme poverty.
It evolves from small inflammations of the gums and grows rapidly to severely destroy the soft tissue around the mouth, leaving an open, gaping sore exposing the teeth.
The Government says that rising poverty, ignorance and deprivation in Nigeria’s northwestern states are responsible for the high rate of Noma disease in the region and other states.
The Coordinator, National Noma Control Programme, Dr Bola Ige, who spoke at the opening ceremony of the Africa regional Noma workshop in Abuja yesterday, disclosed that ninety percent of people that have the disease do not survive, with the remaining ten percent permanently disfigured.
She disclosed that in spite of fatality of Noma disease, Nigeria has no workable policy to respond to the crisis, neither does it have statistical data on the disease because of paucity of funds and insufficient manpower to carry out a comprehensive national survey.
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