People South Africa – September 06, 2019

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tosupportthem.Thesebeliefsfeedon

ignoranceandageneral lackofeducati on.

Manypeoplewithalbinismliveinremote,

impoverishedcommunitieswhere educati on

levels are low, supersti tionsare common,

unemploymentishigh,andinformati on

aboutalbinismis notavailable.

Theyarealsoata higherriskforvariouslife-

threateningmedical conditi ons.Children

withalbinisminruralareasareexposedto

highlevelsofultravioletlightwithoutthe

adequateprotecti ve gear, resulti nginskin

damage. It’s esti mated that only12percent

ofpublicschoolsprovide SPF15sunscreen

forchildrenwithalbinism.Squamouscell

carcinomaoftheheadandneckis themost

commontypeofcutaneoustumoursin

African pati ents withalbinism.Specialist

dermatologistDrWillieVissersaidthatwhile

whiteSouthAfricanspresentedwithskin

cancer onlyaft ertheage of60,most albinsm

pati ents presentedwithskincancer asyoung

as20.Thegovernmenthealthfacilitiesare

required to provide sunblocklotionfor them

ona monthlybasis;however,thisneedis

notalwaysmetduetostock-outsandlack

ofknowledgeonthepartofhealthworkers.

People withalbinismoftenhave trouble with

theireyesightbecausetheirisdoesn’thave

enoughcolour to shieldthereti naproperly.

Toraiseawarenessoftheirplight,every

Septemberis AlbinismAwarenessMonth

inSouthAfrica. Many local celebritieshave

gotonboardtosupportthiscause,including

SouthAfricanmodelandinventorMala

Bryan, whointroduceda dollwithalbinism.

NamedAlexa,thedollis intendedtohelp

change misconceptionsaround albinism.

WhileSouthAfrica hasstepped upeff orts

to prevent att acks onpeoplewithalbinism

by educati ngcommunitiesandspreading

awareness there is sti ll a lot that needs to be

done.

Kabula Masanja

Gabisile Shabane

Baraka Lusambo

TheAlbinismSocietyofSouthAfrica(ASSA)

advocatesforandonbehalfofpeoplewith

albinism,whiletheorganisati onLove This

Skinprovides anonlinesupportplatf orm,

pull-inresourcestoassistdisadvantaged

familieswithpeoplewithalbinismand

educatescaregivers/parents of children

with albinism.

A baby with albinism in Sierra Leone

DID YOU KNOW?

Albinismis a

GENETICCONDITION

inwhichone’sbodydoesnotproduce

melanin– a

DARK PIGMENT

thatis responsibleforproducingskin,

hairandeye colourati on.

BOTH PARENTS

mustcarrythealbinismgeneinorderfor

theirchildtohavealbinism.

NoonehaseverbeencuredofAIDSby

having sexwitha woman,man or child

with albinism.

Albinosare

NOTIMMORTAL.

NOT GHOSTS

and are

Albinismoccursinpeopleofevery

race andnati onality.

Allpeoplewithalbinismare

VISUALLY IMPAIRED

andhave extreme sensitivityto light

(due to the lack of melanin).

Lacking pigmen tati on,people with

albinsm areparticularlyvulnerable to

skin cancer.

PICS: MAGAZINE FEATURES / SOCIAL MEDIA