ABUJA – No fewer than 3,343 men have received free surgical treatment for hydrocele, a disease that causes scrotal swelling, helping to improve their health, restore dignity and reduce stigma.
This was disclosed by Joy Tarbo, Communications Associate at Sightsavers Nigeria, in a statement issued on Thursday in Abuja ahead of Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTD) Day, marked annually on Jan. 30.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), about 110 million people in Nigeria remain at risk of lymphatic filariasis (LF), with an estimated 10–15 per cent of affected individuals—mostly men—living with hydrocele.
LF is a neglected tropical disease caused by parasitic worms transmitted through mosquito bites, while Hydrocele is a painful or massive swelling of the scrotum in men.
Tarbo said Sightsavers, in collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Health and with funding from the UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO), had been supporting underserved communities that lacked access to specialised medical care.
She explained that the interventions included community-wide drug administration campaigns to halt transmission of the disease, training health workers and patients in lymphedema management, capacity-building for surgeons on proper hydrocele surgery techniques, and the provision of free hydrocele surgeries.
Musa added that he was compelled to seek help from a local, unqualified practitioner, whose so-called “surgery” left him with serious complications and put his life at risk.
Shuaibu added that through strengthening health systems and supporting safe surgical care, they would help improve access to quality treatment for affected communities.
She said that by integrating NTD interventions into broader health programmes, they would contribute to a future where preventable and treatable diseases no longer trapped people in poverty and exclusion(NAN)
