For several years now, the Winds of Hope Foundation has been financing and organizing round tables that bring together all associations fighting noma. Some thirty member organizations of the NoNoma Federation meet every year for two days to create synergies and strengthen their respective activities in the fields of prevention, detection, research, medical and surgical tretament, rehabilitation and reintegration.

Annual General Meetings and Round Tables could not be held without funding from the Winds of Hope Foundation’s partners: Breitling and Victorinox. We thank them warmly for their unfailing support.

• 23-24 September 2016: 14th General Assembly with 34 associations present, and 15th Round Table with the presence of Terre des Hommes for the first time. One new active member, With Mali / Jura and one new associate member New Face. Highlights of the meeting: Presentation of the Terre des Hommes mobile health tool; the Médecins Sans Frontières retrospective on their experience and expectations in the fight against noma; the situation report for Niger given by Sentinelles Niger’s responsible person in the field: the laying of the first bricks of the maternity center on the threshold of the Sahel; the key role played by traditional healers in treating noma in Mali.
• 25-26 September 2015: 13th General Assembly (minutes in french) and 14th Roundtable (minutes in french), with the presence for the first time of the Red Cross and « la Chaîne de l’ Espoir » which has now become a new partner member of the Federation. The highlights of this meeting were: Sentinelles’ surgical mission hosted by Persis; Sentinelles’ activities in Burkina Faso; the maternity project on the edge of the Sahel; evaluation of the impact of traditional healers in the treatment of noma in Mali; prioritisation and implementation of noma treatment within MSF; and the definitions of stages of noma, proposed by a members’ working group.
• 26-27 septembre 2014 : 12th General Assembly (minutes in french) and 13th Roundtable (minutes in french), the presentation of the pilot project on policy dialogue in Burkina Faso, the discussions around the noma poster presented by MSF, and the collaboration between Sentinelles, Ensemble pour Eux and Physionoma during the surgical mission organised at the end of 2013 by Dr. Brigitte Pittet-Cuénod from the university hospital of Geneva were the highlights of this meeting.
• 27-28 September 2013 : 11th General Assembly (Minutes GA INNF 2013), with the attendance of 25 associations, and 12th Roundtable (Minutes RT INNF 2013), with the attendance of Doctors Without Borders and Mercy Ships, the recorded noma cases increase in Niger and the surgical treatment of noma at HUG by AEMV surgeons.
• 28-29 September 2012: 10th General Assembly (Minutes GA INNF 2012), with a record attendance of 30 associations, and 11th Roundtable (Minutes RT INNF 2012) with the special participation of Jean Ziegler, Vice-Chairman of the Advisory Council for Human Rights, and H.E. Vokouma Prosper, Ambassador of Burkina Faso to Switzerland as well as to the UN in Geneva.
• 7-8 October 2011: 9th General Assembly (Minutes GA INNF 2011) in which the statutory categories of membership were newly defined, and 10th Roundtable (Minutes RT INNF 2011) featuring the presentation of numerous projects combatting noma, as well as a study assessing the impact of noma surgery sequelae on children’s social integration.
• 1-2 October 2010: 8th General Assembly (Minutes in french GA INNF 2010), with discussions on a draft for new statutes, and 9th Roundtable (Minutes in french RT INNF 2010), with the announcement of the re-launch of the collaboration between WHO and Winds of Hope.
• 30-31 October 2009: 7th General Assembly (Minutes GA INNF 2009), with presentations on the projects funded by the Noma Day, and 8th Roundtable (Minutes RT INNF 2009).
• 5-6 september 2008 : 6th General Assembly and 7th Roundtable.
• 7-8 septembre 2007 : 5th General Assembly and 6th Roundtable.
• 8-9 septembre 2006 : 8-9 September 2006: 4th General Assembly and 5th Round Table, with the decision to organize the first World Noma Day in 2008.
• 7-8 septembre 2005 : 3rd General Assembly and 4th Roundtable.
• 8-9 September 2004: 2nd General Assembly and 3rd Roundtable.
• 20 March 2003: Creation of the International NoNoma Federation at the 2nd Round Table.
• First International Roundtable bringing together the key NGOs fighting noma.

All costs related to the organization of the Annual General Meetings and Roundtables are fully covered by the Winds of Hope Foundation’s partners. Thanks to the unwavering support of Breitling and Victorinox these meetings have been held without interruption every year since 2002. On behalf of all the members of the Federation, we would like to thank them warmly.

Breitling is a recognized leader in the manufacture of time-measuring instruments especially for aeronautics. After sponsoring B. Piccard and B. Jones for their non-stop round-the-world balloon flight in the Breitling Orbiter 3, Breitling supported both pilots when they founded Winds of Hope and since then have continue to share their combat against this forgotten disease. www.breitling.com

For over 200 years, Victorinox has been producing the famous “Swiss knives” as well as other pocket tools and knives. When they made their historic round-the-world flight, the two pilots needed to carry the largest possible number of tools for the lowest possible weight. The Victorinox multi-tool device fitted the bill perfectly. Thus, it became the 2 pilots’ daily working partner in the capsule of Orbiter 3, and since 1999 has remained their partner in the humanitarian adventure of Winds of Hope. www.victorinox.com