Noma – a disease
Noma is an illness deforming the face which undernourished children in countries like Africa, Latin America, and Asia suffer from. In most cases, Noma is a result of untreated infections.
Eight of ten infected children die - although this disease, if recognized at an early stage, can be cured easily using antibiotics.
Lack of knowledge from the parents and resulting delay of treatment often cause a prolongation of this illness with lethal consequences. The disease proceeds with an enormous speed. Symptom one, toothache, is followed by fever, then the cheek is swelling.
In one week only, Noma eats away at the tissue and the bones. The destruction of the face often makes eating impossible. Only very complex surgery can help in such a case.
Weitere Informationen
Official name:
Republic of Niger
Size:
1,267,000 km² (3.5 times the size of Germany)
Population:
Approx. 11.9 million inhabitants ( of these, 1.5 million nomads), most important ethnic groups: Hausa (50 - 55%), Djerma (20 - 24 %), Tuareg (ca. 10%)
Religion:
Sunnite Muslims (95%), Animists (4.5%), Christians (0.5%)
Language:
Official language French, most important national languages are Hausa, Djerma, and Tuareg
Capital:
Niamey (approx. 900,000 inhabitants)
Geography:
Landlocked nation located between the Sahara, the Sahel and Sudan regions
Climate:
Hot and rainy from July to September/October, hot and dry from April to June (up to 45°C)
(Source: Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Federal Republic of Germany)
A new face for a new life
Help for children in Niger suffering from Noma
Noma destroys a child’s face
The Peter Ustinov Foundation supports projects for fighting Noma, a disease destroying the faces of children in the West African country named Niger. The aim of the Foundation is to prevent this illness by means of early diagnosis and education of the people, and to help affected children.
Surgery for a new life
In addition to the disease itself, isolation becomes the biggest problem of people suffering from Noma. The children do not suffer only when they look into a mirror. The cleft jaw often makes eating impossible. As if isolation by their families and exclusion by playmates was not enough, the children also have to cope with loneliness.
A new face means a new life to these children. But: Plastic surgery is complex, expensive and painful. Thus, the aim is to treat the disease at an early stage, before deformations occur.
This is how the Peter Ustinov Foundation helps
Together with our partner, the German association “Hilfsaktion Noma e.V.“ we created numerous programs to fight Noma in Niger. This education is very fruitful. By using antibiotics, we were able to rescue 600 children in 2004. These children are cured now.
The Peter Ustinov Foundation also built a hospital for people suffering from Noma that provides life-saving treatment. In addition to the clinic, we established the children’s home „La maison d'enfants Peter Ustinov” which cares for the children before and after surgery. Furthermore, the Foundation provided six jeeps so that health care can be brought to remote and isolated villages, too.
The Peter Ustinov Foundation supports this and other projects contributing to the well-being of destitute children and their families. Please help us to realise our humanitarian efforts and aims, and give those children a hopeful future.
Donation account: 901 801 301 Bank code: 250 100 30 Bank: Deutsche Postbank AG
