The scorching sun at Tongo Market beats down mercilessly, but it does little to hide the swelling in Rita’s leg. For ten years, the woman in her late thirties has lived with elephantiasis, a debilitating disease that has stolen her mobility, her livelihood, and the dignity that once came with standing on her own two feet.
Once a vibrant trader with a stall full of goods, Rita (not her real name) now depends on others to buy on credit and pay back later. The illness has confined her to a life of uncertainty and dependence, a cruel shift from the independence she once cherished.
Her struggles deepened a year ago when her husband died, leaving her as the sole provider for seven children.
“Sometimes I don’t even know where the next meal will come from,” she said, her voice trembling under the weight of exhaustion. “With seven children to feed, buying uniforms and books is just too much. Look at my leg—walking is hard. After a while, the pain becomes unbearable.”
Still, Rita drags herself to the market each day, determined to feed her children. For a long time, she believed her condition was spiritual.
“I thought I had been cursed,” she recalled. “Because you wake up one morning and see your leg swelling—what else would you think?”
A Widespread, Silent Epidemic
Rita’s story mirrors those of millions across Africa, where elephantiasis, medically known as lymphatic filariasis, continues to ravage lives in silence. The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that about 120 million people worldwide live with the disease, most in poor, rural communities like Tongo. In Africa alone, an estimated 36 million people suffer from the chronic condition, while 657 million others in 39 countries remain at risk of infection.
Beyond the statistics, these numbers represent people like Rita—mothers, fathers, and breadwinners whose dreams are slowly eroded by a preventable disease that thrives on poverty, neglect, and misinformation.
Finding Hope Through Awareness
Rita was fortunate to meet the Development Research and Advocacy Centre (DRAC), an NGO working in Talensi that educates women about Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs). Through DRAC, she learned that her condition was caused by parasitic worms transmitted by mosquitoes.
With this knowledge, she began seeking medical care, but treatment costs remain far beyond her financial reach.
“The medicines help, but even the small things nurses ask me to buy, I cannot afford. Soap for washing my leg daily, painkillers, other drugs… Look at my table in the market, can I buy those when my children are starving?” she lamented.
For Rita, the competing demands of medical costs and childcare make it nearly impossible to continue treatment.
Another Widow’s Struggle
Like Rita, Madam Ayine once owned her own merchandise but now survives on credit.
“When customers see my leg, some walk away without buying,” she said softly, glancing at the swollen limb that has slowed her mobility and dampened her business.
Her husband passed away seven years ago, leaving her to raise their children alone. Her eldest daughter recently completed the Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE), and Ayine is determined to send her to Senior High School. Yet, with illness and dwindling income, the dream feels increasingly distant.
“I have gone to the hospital several times, but when the doctor writes the medicines, I cannot buy them,” she explained.
Like Rita, she attends DRAC’s community sensitization meetings, which give her hope—but the cost of treatment remains a heavy burden.
The Bigger Picture
Although Ghana has made progress through mass drug administration programs, awareness remains low. Only about 18 percent of rural residents recognize elephantiasis as a disease. Low awareness delays treatment, while stigma forces many into silence.
The Upper East Region recorded 2,373 confirmed cases in 2022, and by 2024, northern Ghana saw cases rise by 1.7 percent.
In Talensi, the burden falls disproportionately on women, who already face economic hardship.
According to Derrick Aboyinga, a Disease Control Officer in Talensi, 155 people were diagnosed with elephantiasis in the district last year—138 of them women.
Elephantiasis, or lymphatic filariasis, causes severe swelling of body parts, often the legs. Beyond the physical pain, it strips women of mobility, economic independence, and dignity.
“Elephantiasis is not just a disease but a stigma,” explained Mary Nyaaba, a Health Promotion Officer in Talensi. Misconceptions worsen patients’ suffering. In many communities, the disease is still believed to result from curses or immoral behavior.
Women with the condition often face ridicule, abandonment by spouses, and exclusion from social and economic life.
Breaking the Stigma
For many years, elephantiasis was widely believed to be a curse from the gods or punishment for wrongdoing. Because it was seen as incurable, survivors were often neglected, ridiculed, and stigmatized.
However, organizations like DRAC are working to change these deeply rooted misconceptions. For nearly a decade, with support from Fundación Anesvad, DRAC has partnered with District Health Management Teams in four districts—including Talensi—to strengthen the fight against skin-related Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs).
The organization engages Community Health Management Committees (CHMCs) across 20 communities to ensure early case detection, link affected persons to quality healthcare, and raise awareness to reduce stigma and discrimination through local languages and relatable analogies.
Jonathan Adabre, Executive Director of DRAC, said their mission is to demystify elephantiasis through education and advocacy.
“We want people to know it is not a curse. It is a disease—and it can be managed,” he emphasized.
Through these engagements, women like Rita and Ayine are regaining confidence and seeking treatment. But treatment is not free—and for widows struggling to feed their children, the costs remain overwhelming.
The Human Toll
For Rita, every day is a battle between the pain in her swollen leg and her determination to provide for her children. Her once vibrant stall has shrunk to a modest table of borrowed goods. Her dignity has been bruised, but not her resilience.
For Ayine, the rejection she feels when customers avoid her stall is as painful as the disease itself. She dreams of sending her daughter to school, but illness and poverty force her to choose between survival and hope.
Their struggles reveal a silent crisis: neglected tropical diseases like elephantiasis entrench poverty and despair in rural Ghana. Without stronger support for morbidity management, disability prevention, and financial aid for treatment, women like Rita and Ayine will continue to sink deeper into poverty.
A Call for Action
Health experts stress the need for early detection, mass drug administration, and community education to combat elephantiasis.
Equally urgent, however, are policies that economically empower women, enabling them to afford treatment and rebuild their livelihoods.
For now, Rita, Ayine, and many others cling to hope—that one day, treatment will be within their reach; that their children will not inherit the stigma; and that elephantiasis will be seen not just as a disease, but as a humanitarian crisis demanding urgent action.
Source: A1Radioonline.com | 101.1 MHz | Moses Apiah | Bolgatanga
What an inspirational story! Early diagnosis is key to successful treatment so, we hope as more awareness is being created people will act to prevent infections and those with suspected cases can seek help early for early treatment. Keep doing the good job.