WORLD NTD DAY: SIGHTSAVERS HELPS RESTORE DIGNITY TO 3,343 NIGERIAN MEN THROUGH FREE HYDROCELE SURGERIES
By: Prudence Okonna
Nigeria is recording powerful, human-centred victories in the fight against Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs), as over three thousand men once trapped by pain, shame, and disability reclaim their lives through life-saving treatment for lymphatic filariasis (LF).
On this year’s World NTD Day, Sightsavers, an international non-governmental organization working in Nigeria for the eradication of NTDs, in a press statement, revealed the impact the organisation has had on 3,343 Nigerian Men over the past two years.
According to the statement, the scale of impact is best measured not only in statistics but in stories of farmers returning to their fields, husbands regaining confidence, and families restored from years of silent suffering.
Lymphatic filariasis, a mosquito-borne disease, causes severe swelling of body parts. In men, the condition leads to hydrocele, a painful enlargement of the scrotum that often results in stigma, loss of livelihood and social isolation.
According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), about 110 million Nigerians remain at risk of LF, with an estimated 10 –15 per cent of affected men living with hydrocele.
For decades, many of these men lived in silence, unable to afford surgery or access skilled care.
That reality is now changing.
Since 2024, a partnership between the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare and international non-governmental organisation Sightsavers, with funding from the UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO), has delivered free, high-quality hydrocele surgeries, trained health workers, and empowered patients and caregivers with long-term lymphoedema management skills.
The results are striking: 96 surgeons trained, 3,343 men successfully operated on, and 1,737 patients and caregivers equipped with self-care knowledge, each figure representing a life restored.
For Samaila Musa, a 55-year-old farmer from Kaduna State, the intervention marked the end of a 20-year nightmare. Ashamed and ostracised, he withdrew from community life and eventually sought help from an unqualified practitioner whose attempt at surgery nearly cost him his life. When he finally received proper care through the Sightsavers-supported programme, surgeons worked painstakingly for over three hours to repair the damage.
“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.” Musa said.
In Benue State, brothers Bem Bajah, a 65-year-old retired lecturer, and Bajah Terfa Robert, a 56-year-old public servant, both found themselves battling hydrocele within the same family. While pain limited Bem Bajah’s intimacy and comfort, embarrassment forced Terfa Robert to abandon trousers altogether.
“Even the size alone made me uncomfortable,” Bem Bajah admitted.
Terfa Robert added: “I cannot wear shirts and trousers because of the size… it just keeps growing.”
Selected for surgery, both men described overwhelming relief and gratitude. “I’m very happy. So happy about it. And I thank God for this solution,” Terfa Robert said.
For Sanusi Aliyu, a 45-year-old farmer from Kebbi State, hydrocele threatened not just his health, but his ability to feed his family. The cost of surgery had always placed treatment out of reach.
“I never imagined a day like this would come,” he said after his operation.
Similarly, Abdulrafiu Sani, 65, from Kaduna State, endured years of silent torment with bilateral hydrocele that strained his marriage and forced him into social withdrawal. After surgery, his words were simple but profound: “I feel reborn. I can live like a normal man again.”
Country Director of Sightsavers, Prof. Joy Shuaibu, emphasised that the fight against NTDs goes beyond medicine.
In her words, “These diseases take away dignity, opportunity, and livelihoods. Through strong partnerships, we are restoring health, rebuilding confidence, and giving people the chance to live full, productive lives. This is what real progress looks like.”
Speaking on the impact of the programme, Head of Development Cooperation at the British High Commission in Abuja, Cynthia Rowe, said NTDs rob people not only of health, but of dignity and livelihoods.
“Through our partnership with the Government of Nigeria and organisations such as Sightsavers, the UK is supporting life-changing care for thousands.
On this World NTD Day, beneficiaries are celebrating years of pain and stigma and the progress restoring their ability to provide for their families,” she said.
Abuja Digest reports that Sightsavers Nigeria, through the Christian Blind Mission (CBM), funds hydrocele and other NTD interventions across Nigeria and the FCT, even as the FG pushes toward the 2030 NTD elimination targets. The stories of Samaila, Sanusi, Abdulrafiu, and hundreds of others stand as proof that with political will, skilled care, and sustained partnerships, diseases of poverty can be defeated and lives transformed.
