Some steps forward have been made in terms of information and raising awareness on noma issues. With the help and financial support of a coalition of NGOs, the International Noma Day took place in Geneva on the 22 May 2008.
Raising awareness through any means available about this deadly disease is critical in this crisis period when malnutrition as the key risk factor has considerably increased.
While the goodwill and the competence of the WHO Africa Regional Office remains unquestionable, more must be done in the fight against this disease.
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Noma remains insufficiently prioritized at global and regional level. Despite having an associate mortality rate comparable with diseases such as acute upper respiratory infections, multiple sclerosis and appendicitis, noma does not appear in annual WHO reports. Moreover, noma is not listed among the major killers like malaria, diarrheal diseases, HIV/AIDS infection, measles, tuberculosis, and severe chronic malnutrition. However it is a complication of these diseases. As such and following plain logic, it should receive more attention.
It is simply logical that noma should receive more attention. It is not a contagious disease, but solely due to environmental causes and it would consequently be totally within our power to combat and cure. It is the clearest indicator of extreme poverty, but even though the mission of the World Bank is to reduce global poverty, this deadly disease does not sufficiently attract its attention. Noma was not even mentioned in the 1996 World Bank/WHO publication "The Global Burden of Disease'.
It is true that in 1998, the WHO Regional Committee declared the disease a priority on the African continent, but there is still not sufficient attention being paid to this cruel and stigmatizing disease. More real action is needed from international organizations.
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