Mozambique: 114 albinos are missing, says Human Rights Commission – AIM report

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Mozambique: 114 albinos are missing, says Human Rights Commission – AIM report

5:42 CAT | 20 Mar 2021

File photo: SIC Noticias

From 2014 to the present at least 114 people suffering from albinism have gone missing in Mozambique, according to the National Human Rights Commission (CNDH), cited by the independent television station, STV.

CNDH representative Sheila Massuque said cases of crimes against albinos have been opened against 55 people. She said that albinos suffer discrimination, and are stigmatised. Sometimes they are abandoned by their families, submitted to ill-treatment and, in the worst cases, they are murdered.

Killings of albinos are driven by superstitious beliefs that the body parts of albinos have magical powers, and can make the murderers rich.

Massuque said there have been some improvements in terms of protection for the estimated 20,000 albinos in Mozambique, but challenges persist. She thought it urgent to take actions to end discrimination against albinos, and change society’s attitudes to people suffering from this condition.

A young albino named Ihidina Mussagy, told STV he had suffered discrimination, but overcame it through “self-esteem and determination”.

He said the Covid-19 pandemic has worsened conditions for albinos, since it has reduced the amount of care they receive from health professionals. Albinos are particularly vulnerable to skin cancer, and to visual problems. Now they feel they are not a priority.

“We know that before the Covid-19 pandemic, the hospitals would call 15 people with albinism per week, but now they only call nine”, said Mussagy. “So in this question of accessibility to health care, we feel we have been affected by the pandemic”.

Source: AIM