Senegal: Albinos face social rejection
While albinos in West Africa are not facing the violent attacks seen in recent weeks in other parts of the continent, people with albinism in countries like Senegal face grave and even life-threatening discrimination.
In Senegal a lack of adequate health care, difficulties accessing education and employment, and social marginalisation mean many albinos are dying unnecessarily or are living in destitution.
Recent murders of albinos in eastern and central Africa have attracted worldwide condemnation. At least 36 albinos have been murdered in Tanzania and Burundi since March, apparently targeted because of the belief peddled by some witch doctors that albinos' blood or body parts have magical qualities that can bring riches or cure disease.
The European Union in September passed a resolution condemning the murders and calling for the killers to be prosecuted. The UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) has condemned recent attacks in Burundi and is working with the governors of some provinces there to protect albinos and to dispel the myths surrounding them.
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