Nigeria: Why We Must Accelerate the Inclusion of Noma as a Neglected Tropical Disease

A mysterious figure dressed all in black, she appeared to be invisible as she slipped through the Laraba (Wednesday) market crowd in my village in northern Nigeria. The only visible features were her eyes and her right hand which she used to support the veil that covered the lower half of her face. As she bent to speak to a trader, her veil slipped revealing a sight that burned itself into my 10-year-old brain. The lady’s mouth and nose appeared to be fused to her chin and there seemed to be no…