The Importance Of Albinism In Africa

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Introduction
People living with albinism in many African countries have always struggled to overcome the superstitions that surround the aspect of living with albinism such as the most held African belief about people living with albinism disappearing when they die. Albinism is an inherited genes that do not make the usual amounts of a pigment called melanin which is essential for the full growth of the retina. There are two main types of albinism namely Ocular Albinism and Oculocutaneous Albinism. Ocular Albinism is divided into two types with regards to the inheritance pattern. Oculocutaneous albinism on the other hand refers to the absence of pigment in the hair, skin and eyes. People living with Albinism face daily discrimination and are …show more content…

The historical and current relevance of the topic on albinism in Africa is that, historically, people with albinism were killed at birth for they were believed to be a personification of evil spirits and, currently, they are discriminated and stigmatized for they are still believed to be reifications of evil spirits (Machoko, 2013). One can maintain that the biggest difficulty that inhibits people with albinism from becoming full members of society derives from African traditional religious myths and beliefs, which made them to live in uncertainty they lived in doubt because they were many stories told about their existence. These beliefs and attitudes towards people living with albinism persist today and continue to stigmatize people living with albinism (Baker, Lund, Nyathi & Taylor,

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