Neglecting noma no longer: Canada can do its part tackling this neglected tropical disease

Canada should formally support adding noma to the list of Neglected Tropical Diseases that international partners have declared a commitment to end. Canada’s support for adding noma to the list costs nothing financially, while raising the profile of a serious health concern.

Dr. Abubakar Lawal Abdullahi, team leader of the Médecins Sans Frontières Nigerian surgical team working on noma intervention in October 2018. In the earliest stages, noma can be treated using antibiotics; for too many, a lack of access to health care also means a lack of access to diagnosis and treatment. Claire Jeantet photograph courtesy of MSF

Opinion

BY ADAM HOUSTON, JOEL ROSENBLOOM, AND CLAIRE JEANTET

September 1, 2022

Noma is a disease unfamiliar to many Canadians. For anyone who has seen a case of noma, this rapid, often fatal form of gangrene that destroys the soft tissues, and even the bones, of the face is impossible to forget. This terrible disease primarily affects children between the ages of two and seven...

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