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Noma had been described back in Ancient times, and was known to Hippocrates, Gallien, Celsus and Arataeus of Cappadocia. In 18th and 19th century Europe, numerous texts spoke of this disease, particularly in France, Germany, Poland, Sweden, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom and Spain. Cases of Noma were also described in the United States in 1826 and 1848. In the 20th century, as famine episodes faded and hygiene became widespread, Noma disappeared from industrialized countries, with the exception of cases described in Nazi concentration camps in Auschwitz and Belsen.
It was only in 1989 during a General Health Assembly that Noma was included for the first time on the international agenda. The fact that this disease still existed in certain areas was brought to light by the action of Edmond Kaiser and Yvan Muriset.
In 1992, the World Health Organisation (WHO) took a significant step forward by adopting a plan of action and a strategy to fight against Noma. In 1994, Noma was recognized as a public health issue and an international program for the fight against Noma was implemented and backed by the creation of an international action network against Noma, responsible for monitoring this program. |
However, faced with insufficient funding and perhaps also an unfortunate lack of interest by the international community, the WHO was forced to hold off on its program and relegate its responsibility to the WHO Regional Office for Africa (WHO/AFRO). Only local actions continued to be carried out with private funds, in particular by the NGOs Sentinelles, Hilfsaktion, Campaner, Au Fil de la Vie, Hymne aux Enfants and Enfants du Noma. Several surgical missions performed by volunteer specialists enabled dozens of children to undergo operations. The intervention of the Winds of Hope Foundation finally made it possible in 2000 to relaunch the national programs for the fight against Noma initially planned by the WHO. After a successful experimental phase in Niger, the Foundation signed a five-year partnership agreement with the WHO to extend the action to Burkina Faso and Mali, then to Benin, Togo and Senegal.
For more information on the progress made by country: Countries supported
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