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PARIS, Feb. 16, 2021 /PRNewswire=KYODO JBN/ --

Though it affects more than 140,000 children each year, noma remains a

little-known disease among the general public. Derived from the Greek word

"nomein," meaning "to devour," the disease destroys the face, resulting in the

death of the child in 90% of cases. In order to fight this scourge, in 2019,

former footballer Roger Milla set up the Noma Fund association. Together with

former internationals such as Joseph-Antoine Bell, François Omam-Biyik, Patrick

Mboma, Rigobert Song, and Jacques Songo'o, he is today launching a global

appeal for donations to save the lives of those called "the children without

faces."

To view the Multimedia News Release, please click:

https://www.multivu.com/players/uk/8850051-noma-medical-crisis-african-football-legends-launch-appeal/

Eradication of noma by 2030

As part of the "Acting Against Noma 2021-2030" project, which was officially

launched November 20, Roger Milla is calling upon people around the world to

take part in a major fundraising campaign. The objective is to finance an

action plan aimed at completely eradicating noma by 2030 by implementing a

policy of awareness, prevention, and care in the most affected regions.

Among other things, the funds will be used to build a regional reference

hospital in Yaoundé, as well as care and first aid centers in ten project

countries in Africa: Cameroon, Côte d'Ivoire, CAR, Equatorial Guinea, Liberia,

Nigeria, Togo, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Senegal, and Chad.

20 euros = one child cared for

To help Roger Milla fight noma disease, every contribution matters – on the

foundation's website, donations can be made starting at five euros. Entirely

transparent and secure, payments are made using PayPal, a platform which

specializes in collections for NGOs and international associations.

"Each person can give according to their means," insists Roger Milla. "The

situation of children with noma is all the more shocking since solutions do

exist and they're within reach. Noma can be treated with a simple, relatively

inexpensive drug. But for the people in extreme poverty who are affected by

this disease, it is completely inaccessible."

By way of illustration, 20 euros is enough to cure a child by administering a

complete treatment (antibiotics, vitamins, and disinfectant mouthwash) as soon

as the first symptoms appear and before the disease begins its lightning-fast

evolution.

A specialist hospital established in Africa to treat children for free

Without prevention and access to sufficient care, the only chance these

children have of getting through this is to be admitted to a specialist

hospital. Today, the rare cases that are treated are transferred to European

hospitals at an exorbitant cost. "Only eight children were able to benefit from

this in 2019," explains Roger Milla, regretfully.

Hoping to open in the first quarter of 2022, the reference hospital will

provide complete and free-of-charge surgical care, facial reconstruction and

rehabilitation services for noma patients from all over Africa. Construction

has been earmarked for a plot of land near Yaoundé-Nsimalen Airport, made

available by the Cameroonian State.

"The WHO as well as the International NoNoma Federation and the foundation

Winds of Hope have also provided us with assurances of their support," said

Roger Milla.

About Noma Fund

Noma Fund is an association dedicated to the fight against "the face of

poverty."

Established in Paris in January 2019, Noma Fund aims to completely eradicate

noma disease, also known as the "face of poverty." To achieve this, the

association plans to implement targeted and effective actions in ten focus

countries in Africa: Cameroon, Côte d'Ivoire, CAR, Equatorial Guinea, Liberia,

Nigeria, Togo, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Senegal and Chad.

The action plan, "Acting Against Noma 2021-2030," kicks off with an

awareness-raising phase, aimed at getting the word out about the disease among

populations and global decision makers. The second phase will focus on

prevention. It will involve the roll-out of screening campaigns in schools and

among families located in the heart of areas with high incidence rates of the

disease. Finally, the third phase of the plan is the construction of a

reference hospital located in Yaoundé, which will provide specialized care for

noma patients. At the same time, reception and social reintegration centers

will be built in the 10 project countries.

About Roger Milla

Voted best African player of the last 50 years, Roger Milla has left his mark

on an entire generation.

Today, he dedicates his life to his humanitarian commitments. President of the

Fondation Cœur d'Afrique, in 2018 he discovered noma disease. A year later in

2019, along with other big names in football, he founded the Noma Fund.

Video - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JExMz3ctLXc&feature=emb_logo

Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1433203/Association_Noma_Fund.jpg

Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1433202/Noma_Fund_Logo.jpg

Contact:

Roger Milla

roger.milla@noma-fund.org

+33 (0)1 87 66 67 45

Source:  Association Noma Fund