Nigerian children under 10, from poor remote communities are affected with a preventable and treatable facial gangrene infection called Noma. 90% of children with Noma die within two weeks without treatment. These children need your immediate help to revive their amazing sunshine smiles.
Khadija, a 10-year-old noma survivor, from Katsina, plays in the courtyard of the Sokoto Noma Hospital. She had her first surgery in October 2022. The hospital provides free medical care, including reconstructive surgery, for survivors and people affected by noma. It is run by the Ministry of Health and supported since 2014 by MSF.
Aisha A. is a 6-year-old noma survivor. She had a fistula caused by the infection when she was four years old. Her cheek started swelling and she lost some teeth. She had to stay home due to stigma.
She underwent surgery in May 2023. Her mother Hauwa, recalls, ‘She really wanted to get the surgery. When we were going to come, she couldn’t eat out of excitement’
Aisha wants to be a teacher and is counting the days until she can go to school.
In January 2017, the outreach team of the Noma Hospital in Sokoto, Nigeria, started active case finding. Here, in Sayinna village, the team is showing leaflets to check if someone identifies a noma case in the area. They inform people about the causes of noma and the possibility to treat it in its early stages.
Dr Muhammad Abubakar Lawal, plastic surgeon, operating at the Noma Hospital in Sokoto, Nigeria. Four times a year, a team of highly trained plastic and maxillofacial surgeons, anaesthesiologists and nurses performs life-changing reconstructive surgery for noma survivors. Several hours are spent operating on the more complicated cases. In May 2023, noma surgical intervention was led by an all-Nigerian team.
We partner with world class charitable and humanitarian organisations, with proven track records of delivering child-centric programmes that make a significant impact to the lives of children in desperate need.
Some of our appeals are restricted, with the aim to raise funds for specific items or projects. Other appeals support an unrestricted fund within a country of need or in global support of emergencies. The flexibility provided by unrestricted programmatic funds has huge benefits in creating resiliency in the ability of our partner organisations to respond to emergencies, conflicts and humanitarian catastrophes that affect children, wherever they may occur.
We provide donors with quality feedback and regular updates on the impact of our work.
