After spirited efforts and persistent advocacy by people living with albinism, the World Health Organization (WHO) has finally, and in a landmark decision, officially added sunscreen to its Model List of Essential Medicines. The move has been welcomed and hailed as transformative for persons with albinism, especially in East Africa, which hosts the biggest population of persons with the condition worldwide.
Led by their respective national umbrella bodies, persons living with Albinism in Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania have welcomed the addition. The representatives in statements said the move marks a significant step in addressing the heightened risk of skin cancer faced by this vulnerable group.
Chair of the Albinism Society of Kenya (ASK), Isaac Mwaura, has hailed the WHO for officially adding sunscreen to its Model List of Essential Medicines. In a statement, Mwaura said: “It’s a major milestone for a community that has long been marginalised, facing the dangers of ultraviolet radiation, which significantly exposes them to the risk of skin cancer. It’s a victory for persons with albinism and a life-changing step in protecting health and dignity.”
Sunscreen, also known as sunblock, sun lotion or sun cream, is a photo-protective topical product for the skin that helps protect against sunburn and prevent skin cancer. Sunscreens come as lotions, sprays, gels, foams, sticks, powders and other topical products.
The Tanzania Mission to the United Nations Office and other International Organizations in Geneva, in statement lauded the development, saying: “Tanzania welcomes World Health Organization’s decision to add sunscreen to the Essential Medicines List, a vital step for health equity and the protection of persons with albinism. We value the strong international support that made this landmark achievement possible”.
Describing it as a milestone for inclusion and equity, Albinism Umbrella, a leading non-profit championing the rights of people living with albinism in Uganda, described the move as a powerful recognition and acknowledgement of fervent calls to help protect the albinism community from skin cancer and other health risks. “We call upon Uganda’s ministry of health to adopt this bold step and include sunscreen on the national essential medicines list, ensuring access for all who need it most,” read the statement in part.
While releasing the updated edition of its Model Lists of Essential Medicines (EML), WHO announced that, they had reclassified sunscreen from a cosmetic to an essential medicine, emphasising preventive care for those living with the condition. Launched largely to promote better access to medicines in developing countries, the WHO Model Lists have become a trusted global policy tool for decisions related to the selection and universal coverage of medicines within all health systems.
Yukiko Nakatani, Assistant Director-General for Health Systems, Access and Data, said: “The new editions of essential medicines lists mark a significant step toward expanding access to new medicines with proven clinical benefits and with high potential for global public health impact.”
People with albinism lack melanin, the natural pigment that protects skin from the sun. This makes them highly susceptible to sunburn, skin damage and skin cancer. In sub-Saharan Africa, where sun exposure is intense, studies show that up to 90 per cent of people with albinism may develop skin cancer before the age of 30.
Besides extreme vulnerability to UV exposure, the situation for people living with albinism in Africa is increasingly worrying, especially with the increasing vagaries of climate change: rising temperatures, less shade and environmental degradation. The announcement is, therefore, a major win for the marginalised community of people living with albinism, especially in East Africa where temperatures continue to rise due to climate change and more so in Tanzania, which has the highest reported incidences of oculocutaneous albinism (OCA2) in the world.
The prevalence of the condition in Tanzania is estimated at about 1 in 1,400 births, compared to roughly 1 in 20,000, elsewhere, say, in the United States. According to the WHO, estimates vary from 1 in 5,000 to 1 in 15,000 people in Sub-Saharan Africa. In Europe and North America, 1 in 20,000 people have the condition.
Addition of sunscreen to WHO Essential Medicines List will also offer some reprieve to the already besieged people living with the condition in Tanzania, who not only face severe social stigma, discrimination, and life-threatening attacks driven by superstition and a lucrative trade in body parts (erroneously believed to have some superstitious medicinal properties) for witchcraft.
The advocacy journey to have sunscreen included in the WHO Essential Medicine List began three years ago when the global Albinism Secretariat approached the WHO Essential Medicines List (EML) Secretariat. The spirited campaign was led by Muluka-Anne Miti-Drummond, UN Independent Expert on the enjoyment of human rights by persons with albinism.
“Access to sunscreen means right to life. Without sunscreen, a person with albinism in many parts of the world dies before they’re 30,” said Miti-Drummond, stressing the vulnerability of persons with albinism to skin cancer when she was advocating for the inclusion. Several other actors and stakeholders, including the Global Albinism Alliance, the Pierre Fabre Foundation, Beyond Suncare, and later the Africa Albinism Network, strengthened the proposal.