Noma Returns to Spotlight in Northern Nigeria as Free Surgery Gives Children Hope

There is a disease that can begin with a child’s gums and, within weeks, destroy the tissues of the face.It is called noma.

And northern Nigeria remains one of the places where children continue to suffer from it.

Eight-year-old Ibrahim Dalhatu was only three when he contracted the disease. Since 2021, he has undergone six reconstructive operations.

His treatment was provided free through medical humanitarian intervention.

ADVERTISEMENT

The Disease of Extreme Poverty

Noma is classified by the World Health Organisation as a neglected tropical disease.

It usually begins with gum inflammation in severely malnourished children living in poor conditions. Without early treatment, it can rapidly destroy facial tissue.

The disease has an estimated mortality rate of about 90 percent when untreated. A recent study using data from Sokoto reported more than 50,000 cases across 12 northern Nigerian states between 1999 and 2024.

At Sokoto’s Noma Children’s Hospital, more than 500 children were treated between 2023 and 2025.Yet many arrive late.

Poverty is part of the explanation. So is lack of awareness. Nigeria has only two specialist noma hospitals, including the one in Abuja.

For families who cannot afford treatment, the arrival of free surgery can therefore feel less like healthcare and more like a rescue.

The story is bigger than a medical condition.

Noma is a window into malnutrition, poverty, sanitation, healthcare access and the unequal chances given to Nigerian children simply because of where they were born.

And that is why this quiet disease deserves louder attention.