Noma - the disease of poverty

NOMA, also known as “The face of Poverty” is a bacterial disease leading to tissue destruction of the face, especially the mouth and the cheek. It affects almost exclusively malnourished children in developing countries.

Yearly approx. 100,000 children suffer from Noma. The mortality rate is very high, at 80%. Worldwide every six minutes a child dies from Noma. This disease thrives only in the poorest countries in the world, most are located in sub-Saharan Africa. It can not be repeated often enough: Noma flowers only at the poorest of the poor - Noma is in the truest sense of the word the face of poverty!