Albinism a national issue: PM

The Zimbabwean 

By Nelson Sibanda

13 June 2013

Zimbabwe has made albinism a national issue and government will do everything possible to help improve the welfare of people in the circumstances, said Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai, at a stakeholder meeting on people living with albinism held in Harare yesterday.

More than 17 000 Zimbabweans live with albinism and experience stigmatisation in all aspects of life, a situation Tsvangirai says must be reversed, since all people are equal before the Zimbabwe constitution.

Government ministries such as that for Health and Child Welfare, Education Sport, Art and Culture, Labour and Social Services, Information, Communication Technology, Local Government, Rural Development and Finance, pledged to play their part in making life bearable for people living with albinism.

Tsvangirai said government will put albinism in the public domain and tackle it as a national issue.

“As PM, I will personally champion the cause and supervise participation of relevant government ministries in this regard. It is government obligation to provide needs for people living with albinism like any other disability and make sure opportunities are opened for them,” said Tsvangirai.

Tsvangirai said it is high time people living with albinism are given priority in spheres of life such as education, hospitals, job market among others.

Government was urged to comply with the UN convention on rights of people living with disabilities.

“Providing for an estimated 17, 000 people living with albinism should not be a challenge for government, given massive natural resources bestowed on Zimbabwe,” said Tsvangirai.

Zimbabwe was described as a caring nation which should extend that goodwill to members of the albino community.

Tsvangirai promised people living with albinism a hopeful life with government support.

He described people living with albinism as a multi-talented community which should not feel sorry for itself.

Minister of Health and Child Welfare Henry Madzorera, said his ministry will do everything possible to provide medical requirements such as skin creams, sunglasses among others are available at local clinics.

“My ministry will help ensure basic needs for people living with albinism are accessible at local clinics and pharmacies,” said Madzorera.

He said cancer which continued to claim significant lives of people living with albinism must be tamed, given that it is preventable.

Communities were urged to help facilitate early detection of cancer for the ministry of health to take timeous counter measures.

Government would partner with NGOs to help provide needs for people living with albinism.

Ministry of health provides mobile eye treatment services to people living with albinism and other members from communities. It also treats eye patients at central hospitals such as Parirenyatwa.

Health training institutions would provide medical students with skills to counsel parents with children living with albinism.

Minister of education David Coltart said it is government policy that all schools should be accessible for children living with albinism.

He said if it were not of economic challenges, government would have loved to provide schools with facilities for children living with different forms of disabilities and physical challenges such as albinism.

Zimbabwe was falling short of its obligations to provide for children living with albinism and other disabilities, ‘due to underfunding for the Ministry of Education’.

Coltart urged partners at the meeting to come up with a special document for respective ministries to act upon.

“If my ministry is provided with a document indicating specific requirements for people living with albinism, I will prioritise the requests and attend to them within the remaining few months before elections,” said Coltart.

Coltart said if provided with a database about children living with albinism and their location, his ministry will attend to the needs a matter of urgency.

Minister of Information, Communication Technology, Nelson Chamisa, described the meeting as a right step in the right direction towards addressing of issues affecting people living with albinism.

He said catering for needs of people living with albinism should not be a headache for government.

“In my own capacity and that of minister of labour and Social Services who is absent on duty, I am taking issues raised by people living with albinism to government and push for an immediate positive response,” said Chamisa.

Chamisa said issues to do with albinism should be attended at both national and global levels. “This is a pure and noble cause which every one of us should be proud to be identified with.”

Acting chairperson for the Zimbabwe Albino Association, Richard Nyati, said: “People living with albinism continued to be discriminated and experience stigmatisation due to public ignorance.”

He said people living with albinism are discriminated against from family level to schools, hospitals and work places.

At work places people living with albinism would be assigned to backyard work, since employers do not want them to mix with company clients.

Given their sight problems, children living with albinism would drop science subjects at school and out of choice later pursue art and commercial courses.