Nigeria Urged To Intensify Fight Against Neglected Tropical Diseases

Even though it has made significant progress in eliminating disabling and life-threatening conditions traced to Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs), Nigeria has been charged to step up the fight against the ailments.

The appeal came as Nigeria joins the global community to mark the World Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs) Day on January 30.

The country director at Sightsavers, Prof. Joy Shuaibu, said, “These stories show why the fight against NTDs must remain a national and global priority. It’s not just physical suffering. These diseases take away people’s dignity, livelihoods and opportunities.

“Through strong partnerships, we are restoring health, rebuilding confidence, and giving people the chance to live full, productive lives. This is what progress against NTDs looks like,”  she said.

Sightsavers continues to work closely with government institutions, international partners, and local communities to eliminate NTDs nationwide. By strengthening health systems, supporting safe surgical care, and integrating NTD interventions into broader health programmes, it is contributing to a future where preventable and treatable diseases no longer trap people in poverty and exclusion.

Sightsavers is supporting the Ministry of Health to eliminate LF, with funding from the UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO).

Among the NTDs is lymphatic filariasis (LF), a disease that causes painful swelling of body parts. Swelling in the arms and legs is known as lymphoedema or elephantiasis, while swelling of the scrotum in men is called hydrocele. Both conditions can lead to stigma and limit the ability to work, farm and live independently.

According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), around 110 million people in Nigeria remain at risk of LF. It is estimated that 10-15 per cent of these are men living with hydrocele. Although there is no cure for elephantiasis, the condition can be improved with proper care, while a hydrocele can be treated through surgery.

This includes the use of community-wide drug campaigns to break transmission, training health workers and patients to manage lymphoedema, teaching surgeons proper techniques for hydrocele operations, and providing these operations free of charge. Since the programme began in 2024, 96 surgeons have been trained and 3,343 men have received the life-changing surgery.

However, the programme has also trained 1,737 patients and caregivers in lymphoedema management. To mark World NTD Day, Sightsavers is sharing some of their stories.

For 20 years, Samaila Musa, a 55-year-old farmer from Kaduna State, lived with the pain and stigma of hydrocele. Ashamed of his appearance, he avoided public gatherings and withdrew from community life.

Desperate for relief, he turned to a local, unqualified practitioner whose so-called “surgery” left him with serious complications and put his life at risk. Unlike most hydrocele operations, which take between 30 and 45 minutes, highly trained surgeons worked carefully for over three hours to clean, repair, and restore the life-threatening damage.

“He said I didn’t care about the risks anymore, I just wanted this thing out of my life. Sightsavers gave me hope and freedom. Now, I can live like everyone else again.”

Also, Bem Bajah, a 65-year-old retired lecturer from Benue State, recently developed hydrocele in both testes and heard about the surgery from his younger brother, Bajah Terfa Robert.

“It pains me, so I don’t make love often. Even the size alone has made me very uncomfortable,” he said.