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UNESCO, UNPRPD commemorate Albinism Awareness Day
UNESCO, UNPRPD Zimbabwe Team commemorate the 2023 International Albinism Awareness Day
The UNESCO Regional Office for Southern Africa (ROSA) and the United Nations Partnership on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNPRPD) Project Team joined at least 150 participants to commemorate International Albinism Awareness Day (IAAD) on the 16th of June 2023 in Chiredzi, Zimbabwe under the theme “Ensuring the inclusion of the voices of persons with albinism in all sectors of life”. The event was organized by Zimbabwe Albino Association (ZIMAS), an Organization of Persons with Disabilities (OPD).
Participants included the Umbrella Body Federation of Organizations of Disabled People in Zimbabwe (FODPDZ), the Ministry of Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare, ZIMAS, UNESCO ROSA, including other key partners, to advance Albinism Awareness in Zimbabwe.
“A person with albinism can undertake socio-economic activities just like everyone else. The only difference is in skin colour”.
Speaking during the event Dr Farai Maunganidze, an academic and albinism advocate, emphasized on the rights of persons with albinism, highlighting that; ‘We are first humans before albinism. We want to be socially included in community activities, but because of albinism, we suffer a lot of rejection from peers, friends and even family members”.
Dr Maunganidze highlighted some of the challenges faced by persons with Albinism which include failure to acquire expensive sunscreen lotion, sunglasses, among other psychological challenges raised. Elaborating on difficulties faced by women and girls with albinism in acquiring residential stands, one of the participants explained that she was only added to the waiting list and was later asked to pay a token fee to expediate the process, with no additional source of income and no bank to give loans to women with Albinism.
In a rapid assessment done by UNESCO ROSA, persons with albinism face critical challenges which affect their aspirations, needs and concerns, and hope for social inclusion in development initiatives to attain Sustainable Development Goals.
Giving solidarity remarks on behalf of Professor Lidia Arthur Brito, Regional Director & Representative for UNESCO ROSA, Mr. Tawanda Makawa under the Director’s Office, highlighted that Persons with albinism suffer discrimination, marginalization, bullying, violence and ritual killings in various parts of the world, Zimbabwe included, on the grounds of both disability and color. This leads to various forms of stigma and discrimination which put the security and lives of persons with albinism at constant risk.
“Awareness Raising Campaigns, such as the International Albinism Awareness Day we are having today, help us as community leaders and members to find ways of making our society inclusive of persons with albinism. With or without albinism, we are all the same”, Mr. Makawa stressed.
UNESCO ROSA, through the United Nations Partnership on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNPRPD) Programmes, has been contributing to the advancement of the rights of persons with disabilities in Zimbabwe, and have ensured the meaningful engagement of persons with albinism in raising awareness on the issues they face, as well as promoting their involvement in advancing the implementation of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD).
