Images below are from the noma hospital in Sokoto, Nigeria. Images
Maryam, 4, plays in the courtyard of the hospital. Over a period of eight months she has undergone four reconstructive operations, including a skin graft taken from her chest to replace tissue destroyed by noma.
Sakina, also 4, has had many visits to the noma hospital since 2013. She has already been through two stages of surgery.
Adamu, 14, during a screening session at the hospital. Adamu and his two brothers got measles. His brothers recovered, but Adamu developed noma. His father has made it a personal battle to get surgery for him. Six months after this photo was taken, Adamu’s nose was reconstructed from a piece of his rib and a skin graft from his scalp
Umar, 8, and Adamu, now 15, stand at the entrance of the post-operative ward. The two boys are looking forward to going outside. They recently underwent surgery and are confined to that ward for four to six weeks to avoid infections.
Sufyanu, 2, is fed at the hospital 10 days after he was admitted. Malnutrition is an important risk factor that leads to noma; the disease then worsens the situation by making it hard to eat.
When Sufyanu, arrived at the hospital, he was acutely sick and the disfigurement process had started. He was given antibiotics, his wounds were cleaned and dressed and when he regained strength, he was discharged. He has to wait until he is older before he can have reconstructive surgery because the facial wounds caused by noma are complex and continue to change during a child’s growth.
Several photos on these pages are of patients at Sokoto Noma Hospital, Nigeria, taken throughout 2016 and 2017. Founded in 1999, it is one of the few hospitals in the world that is dedicated to treating children and adults who have noma, including reconstructive surgery.
Permission for the use of the images was granted by © Claire Jeantet - Fabrice Catérini / Inediz. These images are not to be used or distributed in another context without the previous agreement of the photographers.
Adamu, a 14-year-old noma survivor from Kebbi state. He waits with his father, Nadiri, to be examined by surgeons.
Umar, an 8-year-old noma survivor from Kano state. He plays in the hospital’s courtyard in 2017