Public Health Issue - Harvard School of Dental Medicine

public health focus““My primary objective as a PAHO intern was to develop anCourtesy photographeducational module for community health workers in Haition a neglected disease known as noma. Noma is an aggressivegangrenous infection that rapidly destroys orofacial tissuesand primarily affects children born into conditions of abjectpoverty. Surprisingly, little has been done to prevent thisdeadly disease, which kills 70 percent to 90 percent of itsvictims. Those who survive are left with grotesque facialdeformities that often lead to a lifetime of social alienation.Although it is most prevalent in Sub-Saharan Africa,with cases estimated by some experts at more than 140,000annually, noma was recently documented in Haiti. The urgencyof addressing the problem of noma there was compounded bythe earthquake that struck on January 12, 2010, which furtherdestabilized a precarious environment in which the risk factorsfor noma were already prevalent.My internship was based out of PAHO’s oral healthdepartment in Washington, D.C. To help me develop theeducational materials, PAHO connected me with experts onnoma from academic institutions, international health agencies,Abraham Itty (DMD 2013) with Dr. Saskia Estupiñán-Day, director ofthe PAHO internship program, and Anna Scharfen, a summer internfrom the University of California, Los Angeles.and the nonprofit sector. I had the privilege of working withDr. Cyril Enwonwu, the world’s premier noma expert, and Dr.Priscilla Benner, director of MAMA Project Inc., both of whomwere enthusiastic collaborators on my project.In just eight weeks, I was able to see how public healthpolicies are established on a global scale, befriend expertsin my field of research, and write a tangible educationalcurriculum that was implemented on the groundto prevent a noma outbreak. It was everything Icould have asked for—and more. The curriculumwas a succinct, interactive, and engaging moduleabout noma, which was incorporated into PAHO’sTrain the Trainer program. It was designed to buildawareness of noma and empower community healthworkers and families to engage in practices that willsignificantly improve maternal and child health. Thiscurriculum addressed an unmet educational need forcommunities at risk of developing noma and is beingused to prevent a potential outbreak of this terribledisease in Haiti.”—Abraham Itty (DMD 2013), Summer PAHO 2010 InternIt is common for rural communities in Ecuador to maintain 2-D and 3-D mapsof the community. These maps pinpointed the health challenges faced bylocal residents. The photo was taken in Penipe, an indigenous community inthe province of Chimborazo, during HSDM PAHO intern Jason Outlaw’s project. continuedCourtesy photographharvard dental bulletin • winter 2012–1315