NEWS:people with Albinoism Request Government to provide free sunscreen lotions

 

Activists and people living with albinism want the government to provide free sunscreen lotions and machines used to test skin cancer in the minimum healthcare packages.

Executive Director of Source of the Nile Persons Living with Albinism, Peter Ogiki, says 90% of people with albinism suffer from skin cancer, creating a need for regular screening for skin cancer among people with albinism.

In Uganda, we have over 5000 people affected with Albinoism countrywide 

Albinism is a genetically inherited condition which is very rare and, worldwide, affects approximately one in twenty thousand people.Although rare in the western world, albinism is quite common in sub-Saharan Africa, likely as a result of consanguineous alliances. 

Both parents, who may or may not be albinos themselves, must carry the gene if it is to be passed on to the child. Albinism occurs in both males and females and is not specific to any race or ethnic group.

Statistics show that fifty percent of albinistic people in Tanzania have a known albinistic relative, although very few understand or are educated about the medical and genetic causes of this condition. Many believe it is a punishment from God or bad luck, and that their "disease" could be contagious, which is often the view of even members of the medical and professional community. 

Story By :Arnold Freeman Musamali