The purpose of this project/Network is to:

1) Develop a concrete movement of persons with albinism in Africa to drive the implementation of the African Union’s Plan of Action on albinism (2021-2031).

2) Support a professional Africa-based regional advocacy body at the core of the movement that strategically advocates for the implementation of the Plan of Action at the national level. Priority strategy is the replication of the “Kenya Model” namely the use of advocacy, lobbying and training support to move government and relevant stakeholders to adopt a national action plan on albinism (based on the regional Plan of Action) and with an annual budget to ensure implementation.

3) Promote effective leadership in organizations representing persons with albinism to drive the above two goals.

4) produce reliable data for decision-making and for driving goals 1 and 2 above. People with albinism “don’t die, they disappear.” This is the myth propagated in several African countries, where persecution and discrimination against persons with albinism—who are demonized, dehumanized, and whose body parts are believed to possess magical powers—has spread (from 20 to 29 countries in the last decade). In the past two years, there continue to be reports of violence, including mutilation, and killing, kidnapping, serious desecration and trafficking in body parts of persons with albinism for witchcraft purposes including in countries where such had never/rarely been reported, for example , Mali, Togo and Zambia. The cross-border nature of these incidents has also been reported. While several civil society organizations, UN mechanisms, and the diplomatic corps are contributing to addressing this issue, these efforts have historically been uncoordinated and ad-hoc. The UN Independent Expert on albinism, Ms. Ikponwosa Ero (Nigeria), a woman with albinism herself, has, since her appointment in 2015, played a pivotal role in supporting the convening a wide range of actors, supporting national-level grassroots responses to attacks and discrimination, and mounting a game-changing communications strategy that challenges the very myths and misperceptions upon which the discrimination and attacks are based. She has also led the development of a Regional Action Plan (2017-2021 and monitored online at actiononalbinsim.org). That Plan has guided interventions to date leading to several successful case studies and the reduction of attacks in some countries. Since then, the Expert has successfully lobbied the AU to adopt and extend the Plan to 2031. Thereforein 2019, the African Union Plan of Action was adopted by the Executive Council of the AU with the time frame of 2021-2031. At the same meeting, the AU also decided to appoint a Special Envoy on albinism, an honorary post to drive implementation at high-level meetings and within Member States of the African Union. Several regional outfits have emerged in the last 5 years to address the human rights violations faced by persons with albinism in Africa but none have been sustained due to lack of support and resources: both technical and financial. All of these will be approached to collaborate in the proposed Network.