Port Harcourt – Miss Golden Chnonyerem, the Coordinator, Rivers chapter of Albinism Foundation, has called for an end to the stigmatisation on people living with albinism.
Chinonyerem made the call in Port Harcourt on Monday, while speaking with newsmen, as the world marks International Albinism Awareness Day.
She said that stigmatisation remained, “the worst and most painful issue being faced by people living with the condition.”
“In some places, we are denied employment and even admission opportunities in schools; we are not treated as normal people.
“Some look at us as people who cannot function well in offices, some even laugh at us. These treatments and perceptions about us are wrong,’’ she said.
Chinonyerem said that albinos were also faced with the challenge of financing the right cream that could effectively protect them from sunshine.
She called on governments and humanitarian organisations to assist people living with albinism by providing lotions that could moisturise their bodies.
“There are foundation and groups that can be reached to assist us in providing the cream that suits our skin to protect us from skin cancer.
“People living with our kind of condition are normal humans that require being treated as such. People around us should not discriminate against us,’’ she pleaded.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), reports that albinism is an abnormality characterised by an extremely light hair, skin and eye colour.
The International Albinism Awareness Day aims to increase the global attention to the rights of those living with the hereditary condition. (NAN)