Dr. Caminiti (left) performing reconstructive surgery in St. Peters Hospital, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, with local resident learners assisting and observing.

How one group’s voice is making a global impact

By Nina Ambros

In November, U of T’s Faculty of Dentistry’s Noma Action Group (NAG) hosted their latest Africa Talk event. The talk was held at the Auditorium and was attended by nearly 100 people. 

Dr. Marco Caminiti shared his experience about treating facial deformities in children, as well as some noma cases, during his recent trip to Ethiopia. Dr. Caminiti wears many hats, including volunteering as a Mission Surgeon for the Face the Future Foundation, a surgical non-profit, that sponsored the trip. 

In rural areas of sub-Saharan Africa, children with facial deformities face discrimination and can be cast out from their village.  

“There is a tremendous need for care. Some of the patients line up outside the hospital weeks ahead of time to get access to treatment.” says Caminiti. 

During the first few days of their stay, Dr. Caminiti and his colleague, Dr. Karly Cuddy, assessed and triaged all the patients in need. Then, for the next two weeks they kept busy with performing surgeries. 

“We faced many challenges, and unfortunately there were some patients that we were unable to treat. But at the end of the day, we did life-saving work for the ones that we could.” says Caminiti. 

The Africa Talk event is part of a series that aims to motivate students and enrich their experiences, through bringing in guest speakers with global dentistry experience.   

“We wanted to widen the net and open up the talk of global health and expose students to the opportunities that exist to make an impact” says Dr. Joel Rosenbloom, assistant professor, teaching stream and one of the lead organizers of NAG. 

Dr. Rosenbloom (left) with student.

Africa Talks also serve as a space for students to share their own experiences of their time abroad. U of T’s Faculty of Dentistry’s partnership with the Addis Ababa University’s College of Health Sciences, School of Dentistry , under the Toronto Addis Ababa Academic Collaboration umbrella, enables these transformative opportunities for students to travel to Addis Ababa and support building capacity in oral health care in the region. 

A milestone for global health equity

Since forming in 2020, NAG’s ‘One Hour for noma’ campaign has been raising awareness about noma with dental students across Canada. So far, NAG’s advocacy resulted in the Canadian Minister of Health’s office sending a supporting letter for the Nigerian dossier on noma. 

In May 2023, the World Health Organization (WHO) will vote on the inclusion of noma on its list of Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs). Official recognition by WHO would strengthen existing programs aimed at the eradication of noma, and have a significant impact on early recognition, diagnosis and intervention. This decision would also help inspire, support and fund new helpful research. 

“This would put Noma on the global health ‘map’, it has been an ‘Neglected’ NTD for a very long time.” says Rosenbloom. 

Interested in the next NAG event? 

 NAG has a few things in the works for 2023. The next event will be another screening of the film, Restoring Dignity: A Journey with Noma Survivors. It will be introduced by the passionate filmmaker herself, Claire Jeantet, and followed by an interactive Q&A. Dr. Rosenbloom and the rest of the Noma Action Group hope to see you there.