The National Council for Persons with Disabilities (NCPWD) has rolled out a free nation-wide cancer screening program for persons with albinism.
Through the program, which runs concurrently with the mapping for cases of albinism in the country, NCPWD targets to build accurate data on the number of people living with the condition with a view to supporting them with sunscreen lotion, lip care and after sun lotions.
Steve Wafula, a senior accountant at NCPWD said the exercise which is fully funded by the government seeks to identify cancer cases in people living with albinism so that they are put on treatment early to avert loss of lives.
The government, he said has released Sh100 million for the Albinism Support Program to carry out the exercise among other interventions.
“We have buried so many people living with albinism simply because they did not have access to these services. The exchequer has already released the Sh100 million to the council for this program and we are very grateful,” he said.
The exercise which is a build up to the International Albinism Awareness Day to be commemorated on June 13, 2024, he said targets to bring on board as many people living with albinism as possible to take up the services.
Wafula said a good number of them were yet to come out since the NCPWD data base indicates about 3,000 countrywide yet the 2019 census identified over 9,000 cases.
He attributed the discrepancy to poverty, with majority of those not reached unable to turn up due to financial difficulties.
The mapping exercise, he said targets to scale up the number in the NCPWD records to 5,000 this financial year and progressively move to reach the 9,000 captured during the last census.
“We have teams covering the coastal region and we are here in the western part of the country. So far we have covered Nakuru, Kericho, Kisii and Kisumu. We are also set to do it in Vihiga, Kakamega, Busia, Bungoma and Trans Nzoia Counties,” he said.
Speaking during the exercise at Kibos School for the blind in Kisumu County, Wafula said NCPWD has stocked County Referral Health facilities across the country with sunscreen lotions, lip care and after sun lotions asking people living with albinism to visit the facilities to access them free of charge.
Dr. Caleb Kadima, a dermatologist at Jaramogi Oginga Odinga Teaching and Referral Hospital (JOOTRH) said albinism which is a genetically inherited condition characterized by lack of pigment in the skin, hair and eyes can be managed with the available skin care products, protective skin clothing and eye care.
The sun, he said was the biggest enemy for people living with albinism because once exposed to the rays they develop sun burns which if not treated early can develop into skin cancer.
Those who turned up for the exercise were taken through a process called cryotherapy which involves the freezing of the sun burns using liquid nitrogen.
Dr. Kadima said the treatment is very critical so that they dry and fall off to prevent cancer.
Samples were also taken from those screened for further examinations that those found with cancer can be put on treatment.
Dr. Beatrice Etemesi who has worked with the program since its inception in 2014 said the uptake of the services has improved tremendously.
Health workers at facilities attending to people living with disability, she said have also been trained on how to handle the cases.
“We now have a team of dermatologists, health and eye experts to follow up on these cases,” she said.
NCPWD Nyanza Regional Coordinator George Odhiambo said the agency was working closely with chiefs and community health workers to ensure all people living with albinism are captured.
To make the initiative a success, he added the council has introduced incentives among them education scholarships to ensure parents hiding children with albinism bring them out.
By Chris Mahandara
