By Arret Jatta
Vitiligo is a disease that causes loss of skin colour in patches. The discoloured areas usually get bigger with time. In black people, vitiligo can appear more pronounced through pale white patches seen on the skin. The disease is not curable at the moment, however, in the Gambia, there is a huge misconception around Vitiligo with some associating it with witchcraft and people often marginalised and stigmatized by society. Some people even resort to traditional medicine to find a cure and in some cases come out worse off.
This story highlights some of the scientific knowledge on Vitiligo, the formation of an association to empower people with Vitiligo and statements from a Health Practitioner from the Ministry of Health.
Kristina Lui a Dermatologist at Brigham and Women’s Hospital said that Vitiligo is a medical condition in which patches of skin lose their colour. This according to Lui, occurs when melanocytes, the cells responsible for making skin pigment, are destroyed. “Vitiligo can affect any part of the body, and it can occur in people of any age, ethnicity or sex,” she said.
Vitiligo affects approximately 1% of the population and can be an emotionally and socially devastating disease, Lui added.
Some people go as far as associating Vitiligo with witchcraft and sometimes people with the skin condition are stigmatized and discriminated against. Due to its prevalence of late, an association was formed in The Gambia on 26th June 2022 to empower people with Vitiligo.
Mr Buba Jammeh the coordinator of the Vitiligo Association of the Gambia told our reporter that their organisation was created as a platform to share experiences as Vitiligo victims and to help others who face stigmatization as a result of their condition. “It is their right to be loved, it is their right to have freedom of association without being discriminated against or stigmatized,” he said.
Mr Jammeh explained that he developed the skin disorder in 2009 following his visit to a doctor who confirmed that it is Vitiligo. He said he was able to see a dermatologist and a counsellor to talk to and ease his mind which many people do not have access to. “One thing I thank God for is that I have a very loving and supporting family who supported me all through it, regardless of my skin condition”. He added that anyone can be a Vitiligo victim at any point in their lives because he was also having normal skin until one day everything changed.
According to Mr Jammeh, he visited a traditional healer because he believed that the condition was spiritual, the healer gave him some “strange medicine” but that even made things worse.
Mr Jammeh added that the problem they have is not the Vitiligo but the people around them and how they bully them and call them names.
Also present at the launching of the Vitiligo Association was Mr Lamin Sambou a staff of the Ministry of Health who represented Momodou Njie, the Director of Health Promotion and Education. During his statement, Mr Sambou explained that those with Vitiligo should not visit traditional healers because this is one condition they cannot cure.
Mr Sambou highlighted that one of the problems people with Vitiligo face is low self-esteem. “It is natural that when humans don’t understand something, they always have misconceptions about the thing” he added. He also added people should not show any form of violation against these people. Most importantly he wanted the public to know that Vitiligo is only a skin disease and does not affect the physical or mental ability of a person.
Speaking about his discussions with students in The Gambia, Mr Jammeh revealed that children suffering from Vitiligo are going through a lot in school and in society as well, “their fellow students don’t treat them fairly and they are always bullied, this is taking a toll on them”.
