70% of albinos in Cameroon are from the West- Study

According to a study conducted by Professor Robert Aquaron of Aix-Marseilles Faculty of Medicine at the University of France, 70% of albinos living in Cameroon are from the West Region.

After spending several years in sub-Saharan Africa, including Cameroon, where he did a research on Albinism and their social lives, it was clear from these studies that albinos living in Cameroon are at risk of skin cancer and burns related to sun exposure. They also suffer from problems with their sight.

This was the conclusion of an international conference on Albinism in Sub-Sahara Africa, organized in Douala.

According to the professor, the Saharan environment is not very favorable for people with albinism.

Unlike North Africa and West, albinos are constantly protected, according to medical officials. Moreover, ignorance of certain details about the anomaly often makes people have certain stereotypes on albinos which are not good.

For experts, albinism is not an illness "but a genetic condition. It is caused by the lack of melanin production which can cause many skin problems," the experts explained.

In view of the abuse in some of these African countries, including Burundi and Tanzania, experts believe that it is important to educate Africans on albinism. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), albinism is considered as a handicap.

"If the proportion of albinos is 1 person to 20,000 in the world, there are up to 1,200 albinos in Tanzania and one in 16,000 in Burundi,” we were informed.

That is why during the symposium, the experts insisted that albinos should totally be accepted socially in Sub-Saharan Africa. "It is about spreading the outcome on the innovative research on the realities of living with albinism in sub-Saharan Africa, including the medical and anthropological research and the company's response to the albino,” stated the experts.