How Did Jiggers Go Unnoticed for So Long?

They came barefoot.

Some carried their shoes in their hands.
Some had none at all.
Every step hurt.

You could see it before they spoke.

Open wounds. Swelling. Infection. Pain that had lasted months, sometimes years.

This is tungiasis. Most people know it as jiggers.

It is one of the most painful parasitic infestations a human can endure. Left untreated, jiggers can lead to severe infection, disability, sepsis, and even death. Children stop going to school. Adults can no longer work. Families become isolated, not only by pain, but by shame.

And yet, for decades, jiggers barely existed in global health conversations.

They were not formally recognized by the World Health Organization as a neglected tropical disease until recent years.

That should make us pause.

How can something this serious go under the radar for so long?

There is no single answer. But there are patterns worth paying attention to.

Jiggers overwhelmingly affect people living in extreme poverty. Rural communities. Earthen floors. Limited access to shoes, clean water, or healthcare.

They do not spread quickly across borders.
They do not threaten wealthy nations.
They do not generate global headlines.

They stay where attention is scarce.

There is also stigma. In many communities, jiggers are associated with shame, neglect, or even curses. Children are mocked. Adults are avoided. Suffering happens quietly, often behind closed doors.

And then there is the way global health problems are typically addressed.

Many diseases gain attention because there is a drug involved. A pill. A vaccine. A treatment that can be developed, funded, distributed, and scaled.

Jiggers do not work that way.

There is no pill that expels jiggers from the body.
No pharmaceutical solution waiting to be discovered.
No financial incentive driving urgency or awareness.

Treatment is manual and careful.
Prevention depends on education, hygiene, environmental change, and protection.
Healing requires follow up, consistency, and presence.

Solutions rooted in people, not products.

That does not mean anyone intentionally ignored the problem.
But it does mean the system was not designed to see it.

Not because jiggers are rare.
But because the people affected are often unseen.

When we first encountered jiggers in Uganda, we were stunned. Not just by the severity, but by how normal the suffering had become.

This should not exist.
And yet, it does.

That realization clarified something essential.

This problem is serious. But it is also solvable.

Unlike many global health challenges, jiggers do not require expensive technology or decades of research to stop. They require consistency. Medical care. Prevention. Education. Protection. Follow up.

What has been missing is not a solution.

It has been commitment.

Sole Hope was founded on a simple conviction. Children should not suffer from a preventable condition simply because no one is paying attention.

To our knowledge, Sole Hope is the only organization in the world whose primary mission is long term jigger eradication.

Not as a side project.
Not as a short term response.
But as the focus.

That commitment shows up in how the work is actually done.

Weekly mobile medical clinics allow us to respond quickly in vulnerable communities, especially where jigger outbreaks are severe or immediate care is needed. These clinics help us reach people who might otherwise go unseen.

But mobile clinics alone are not enough to end the cycle.

That is why Sole Hope created the Walk in Freedom Clinics.

These clinics operate through partnerships with government hospitals and local health systems, allowing jigger treatment, education, and prevention to happen within communities, even in remote areas far from our headquarters. This model brings care closer to families who are often hardest to reach and ensures treatment is not dependent on a one time visit.

For children with severe or complicated cases, we provide residential care through our Hope Center, where healing can happen fully and safely over time.

Alongside treatment, we prioritize education around hygiene and prevention, because stopping reinfestation is the only way this ends. Families learn how jiggers spread, how to protect living spaces, and how to keep children safe long after a clinic day.

We provide closed toe shoes to protect healed feet and reduce future exposure, supporting prevention where the risk is highest.

We commit to ongoing follow up, so healing lasts and progress is not lost.

We offer mental health support to address the trauma and stigma that often accompany long term infection.

And all of this work is led by Ugandan staff, year after year, within the communities they serve.

Shoes protect healed feet.
Education prevents the cycle from restarting.

That difference matters.

Because when jiggers are treated consistently, children heal.
When prevention is taught, infections stop.
When dignity is restored, shame loses its grip.

Jiggers are not a mystery disease.

They are a neglected one.

And neglect can be reversed.

The question is no longer how this went unnoticed for so long.

The question is what happens now that we see it clearly.

If you are looking for a problem that is both urgent and solvable, this is one.
If you are looking for impact you can see in healed feet, restored dignity, and children returning to school, this is it.

Attention changes outcomes.
Commitment changes lives.

Now that you know, the invitation is simple.

Pay attention.
Stay involved.
Help end a problem that never should have lasted this long.