Albinism in Africa: Chapter 12 - Albinism and Social Marginalization

The murder and mutilation of people with albinism in Africa is an unprecedented crisis of human rights: the most extreme manifestation of a broader structural marginalization impairing the welfare of this population across all areas of life. This chapter delineates key challenges facing people with albinism and tested strategies for confronting these. The work of international NGO Standing Voice is used as a lens for this analysis. The authors begin by establishing terms and arguing for a qualified definition of albinism as a socially produced disability. They proceed by charting past interventions around this issue and the movement toward unification that has strengthened the responses of development actors in recent years. The authors identify key lessons to have emerged from this process and finish by elaborating best practices in advocacy and health.