How much do you know about albinism? That’s a question the United Nations hoped many would answer when it dedicated June 13 to International Albinism Awareness Day.
Albinism is a genetic condition, where people are born without the usual pigment in their bodies. People living with the condition cannot make a normal amount of melanin, the chemical responsible for colors in the eye, skin, and hair.
However, many people in the African continent know very little about the condition and often maltreat people living with it. In Cameroon, for instance, some ethnic groups have even advocated for the killing of people with albinism.