What is Albinism? Albinism is a genetically inherited disorder from both the mother and the father. Anyone can have Albinism or carry a gene for Albinism. People with Albinism have little or no pigmentation in the skin, hair and eyes. It causes vulnerability to sun exposure and bright light. Many have very poor vision as a consequence. In tropical countries, like Tanzania, people with Albinism hav
e a very high risk of skin cancers if unprotected from the sun. Otherwise, our brothers and sisters with Albinism are just like us. There are people with Albinism all over the world. Tanzania has the highest population of people with Albinism in the world, according to some estimates as many as 170,000. The fear and sufferings experienced by people with Albinism in Tanzania:
- Brutal attacks and killings
Albinos in Tanzania are brutally slaughtered and killed, because of a completely absurd myth that Albino bones can make you rich. There is a sinister trade of their body parts for use also in witchcraft rituals. Over the last five year the situation has become much worse in Tanzania.
- High risk of skin cancers
Due to little or no pigmentation in the skin Albinos have an extreme high risk of skin cancers and therefore need to protect themselves with sun protection products, such as sun screen, sunglasses, hats and proper clothing. Most Albinos can´t afford this, because of poverty. The life expectancy of Albinos is only 30 years. With protection and adequate health care, they have the same life expectancy as the general population.
- Low vision
All Albinos are born with low vision. In Tanzania there is little vision aids available, such as glasses and magnifiers. Medical care for eyes is rarely available. This has resulted into children with Albinism dropping out of school and ending up without proper education, resulting into high unemployment and no way out of poverty.
- Ignorance and prejudice about people with Albinism
In Tanzania the strangest things are believes about people with Albinism and Albinism in general. It´s important to educate communities that Albinism is not a disease and you cannot catch it, people with Albinism are not blind, there is no magic in Albinism, people with Albinism can´t cure diseases or bring wealth of luck, people with Albinism have normal intelligence.
