Malawi's long struggle against attacks on albinism

A woman in Malawi does not walk alone after dark. That precaution, reported across multiple communities by UNHCR Africa, is not a personal quirk — it is a survival strategy shared by many people with albinism across the country.

Malawi has documented cases of attacks on people with albinism for well over a decade. According to UNHCR Africa, those attacks are tied to a demand for body parts believed by some to carry magical properties — a belief with no basis in biology or medicine, but with devastating consequences for those targeted.

A pattern that persists

The violence has followed a recognisable pattern, UNHCR Africa reported: attacks concentrated in rural areas, carried out by individuals seeking to sell body parts to practitioners of ritual medicine. Victims have included children. Perpetrators have, in some cases, included family members.

Advocacy organisations working in Malawi have pressed the government to strengthen protections, improve prosecution rates, and provide safe accommodation for people at acute risk. Some progress has been made on paper. According to UNHCR Africa, implementation has been slower and less consistent than campaigners have called for.

The Under-Reported Albinism Attacks project, which has tracked violence across Sub-Saharan Africa, has noted that official figures likely undercount actual incidents — many families do not report attacks for fear of stigma or retaliation.

What the community faces

Beyond physical danger, people with albinism in Malawi face compounding disadvantages. UNHCR Africa reported that access to sunscreen — a daily medical need given the heightened risk of skin cancer among people with albinism — remains limited and expensive for many households. Vision impairment, common among people with albinism, further restricts access to education and employment in settings without adequate support.

Organisations including the Association of People with Albinism in Malawi have continued to push for both physical protection and broader social inclusion. Their work, UNHCR Africa noted, includes community education aimed at dismantling the beliefs that drive demand for attacks in the first place.

The government of Malawi has at various points issued public statements condemning the violence. Convictions have been secured in some cases. According to UNHCR Africa, advocates argue that neither the pace nor the scale of the official response has matched the severity of the threat.

The attacks continue. So does the work of those trying to stop them.