Written By Marc Nkwame
Activists and Human Rights Bodies are calling upon Tanzania to endorse the country’s National Action Plan for people with albinism, which is still in draft.
Speaking to journalists in Arusha, they pointed out that if the latest census data is anything to go by, then the total number of persons with albinism in Tanzania should be more than 75,000.
According to the Chief Executive Officer of the Under the Same Sun (UTSS) Peter Ash, the country has seven-times more people with albinism than Kenya, its closest neighbor across the northern border.
“But people who live with albinism are usually scared, remain hidden and likely not to show up for census,” he said adding that many were not counted.
Under the Same Sun, is a non-government organization advocating for people with albinism in Tanzania.
On her part, the Director of Human Rights Advocacy Ikponwosa Ero said the 2019 data indicates that Kenya had around 10,000 people with albinism, but already the country has set aside an annual budget of USD 1 million to cater for them.
But Tanzania with eight times the number of persons with albinism is still dragging its feet in endorsing the country’s National Action Plan for persons with albinism.
So far there are only seven countries in Africa with their national action plans in place, these include Angola, which actually came up with its own plan after attending a conference in Tanzania, yet the latter doesn’t have any, at least yet.
Other countries with National Action Plans for people with albinism are Kenya, Malawi, Togo and Mozambique; while the Democratic Republic of Congo and South Africa have theirs stuck in draft stages.
That Action plan will see people with albinism and similar skin disorders get state support on education, health, protective gear and employment.
Meanwhile in a historic development, a lawsuit has been filed against the government of Tanzania concerning a person with albinism.
Brought by the applicants including Center for Human Rights (University of Pretoria), the Legal and Human Rights Centre (LHRC), and the Institute for Human Rights and Development in Africa (IHRDA), the case was heard on September 10 and 11, 2024, at the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights in Arusha, Tanzania.
The applicants are advocating for comprehensive compensation and reparation for survivors of violent attacks against persons with albinism.
They are also demanding significant improvements in the right to health, particularly in preventing skin cancer, and enhanced educational support through the provision of essential tools such as monocular to people with albinism.
Additionally, the applicants call for increased government efforts to de-stigmatize albinism and the adoption of a national action plan to address protection and discrimination issues.
In defense, the Tanzanian government, represented by several lawyers, stated that they had prosecuted a few cases and that they had purportedly collaborated with NGOs in the areas of health and education.
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