By Muhammad Nasir
Sokoto Nov. 5, 2022
The Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Sa’ad Abubakar III, on Saturday lauded the Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) or Doctors without Borders for its sustainable humanitarian interventions in Nigeria.
Abubakar, the President General, Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (NSCIA), made the commendation at the celebration of the 6th National Noma Day in Sokoto.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the event which had as it theme; “Noma Disease is preventable”, was organised by the Sokoto State Ministry of Health, in collaboration with MSF.
The Sultan, who was represented by Alhaji Kabiru Cigari, the District Head of Wurno, said the MSF’s interventions on children and the less privileged cannot be overemphasized.
“Your presence in our domain has made a lot of successes on the well-being of our society.
“In fact, you are the living example of what you have been doing to our society, as such, we don’t have enough words to appreciate your sacrifices,” he said.
Abubakar further pledged the Sultanate Council’s commitment to continue to support MSF and Noma hospital for the sustenance of their successes.
In his address, Mr Mohammed Omer, the MSF Head of Mission, said the organisation had from 2014 conducted 1,249 major surgeries on Noma patients at the hospital in Sokoto.
“Similarly, between Oct. 23 and Nov. 4, a total of 32 major surgeries were conducted on Noma patients as part of its intervention activities.
“We have covered 19 out of 23 Local Government Areas of Sokoto state and hoping to extend our interventions to the neighboring states in 2023,” he said.
Omer added that MSF has worked continuously in Nigeria since 1996 and currently provides medical care, free of charge, in 11 states across the country.
Also speaking, Dr Shafiu Gwadabawa, the Chief Medical Director, Noma Hospital, Sokoto, said that MSF was supporting it through in-patients’ care, reconstructive surgeries, outreach activities, nutrition and mental health support.
“Malnourished children and members of isolated communities with limited access to healthcare and vaccination are more vulnerable to infection,” he said.
Earlier, Dr Peter Ajanson, MSF Noma representative emphasised the need for children to be immunised against infectious diseases.
“In Sokoto, based on statistical data, 51 per cent of children have not received any immunisation following poor health system, inadequate access to healthcare facilities, distance and poverty, among many others.
”Noma disease is preventable and treatable, but people still die from it because of the limited knowledge about the disease and how to detect it,” Ajanson said.