Kinshasa: a joint declaration to promote the rights of people with albinism in Africa
04/11/2021
On 19 and 20 October 2021, the Fondation Pierre Fabre took part in the first Pan-African Albinism Colloquium. The event was held in Kinshasa and attended by key figures, such as Félix Antoine Tshisekedi Tshilombo, President of the Republic of the Democratic Republic of Congo and Chairperson of the African Union, and one hundred representatives from 16 African countries, including Burundi, Mali, Burkina Faso, Republic of the Congo, Kenya, South Africa and Tanzania.
Ms Béatrice Garrette, Director General of the Fondation Pierre Fabre, spoke at the conference, presenting the programmes being conducted in Africa since 2016 in collaboration with patient organisations and learned societies in an effort to develop advocacy, establish local units to manufacture sunscreens, train healthcare professionals, and provide access to dermatological and ophthalmological consultations and socio-economic integration for those in need. (Learn more)
The two-day working colloquium resulted in the adoption of the Kinshasa Declaration, of which the principal recommendations are:
- Manufacturing sunscreen in Africa;
- Establishing a directorate in charge of the rights of those with albinism within African public administration;
- Reducing or eliminating taxes and duties on imported sunscreen;
- Raising awareness among parents, students, traditional chiefs, teachers, opinion leaders;
- Appeals to governments to support non-profit organisations for those with albinism;
- Producing scientific and statistical data on people with albinism to better guide budgeting policies;
- Strengthening legislation by including a chapter on people with albinism;
- Institutionalising the colloquium as a biennial event.