Attacked in Africa, fitted with prosthetics in New Jersey

People with albinism who lost limbs in ritual attacks across sub-Saharan Africa have received prosthetic arms through a New Jersey-based programme.

A group of people with albinism who survived ritual attacks in sub-Saharan Africa have been fitted with prosthetic arms in New Jersey, according to CBS News. The attacks, which targeted them for their limbs and body parts, left several survivors with permanent physical injuries.

The prosthetics were provided through an organised programme connecting attack survivors with medical care in the United States, CBS News reported. For those involved, the process of being fitted represented access to equipment that is largely unavailable in the countries where they were attacked.

Ritual attacks on people with albinism across sub-Saharan Africa are driven by the belief that their body parts carry magical properties, according to human rights organisations including the United Nations. These attacks have been documented in Tanzania, Malawi, Mozambique, and neighbouring countries over the past two decades.

The UN Independent Expert on the enjoyment of human rights by persons with albinism has repeatedly called on governments in the region to prosecute perpetrators and improve protections for people with albinism, noting that convictions remain rare and that survivors often receive little ongoing medical or psychological support.

Prosthetic limbs are among the most significant unmet needs for attack survivors, according to organisations working in the region. Access to fitted, functional prosthetics in many parts of sub-Saharan Africa is limited by cost, availability of trained practitioners, and the distance survivors must travel to reach specialist care.

The New Jersey programme, as reported by CBS News, brought a small number of survivors to the United States specifically to be assessed and fitted. The reporting did not detail the long-term follow-up care available to participants once they return home.

For the people involved, the experience marked one point of practical recovery — though the structural conditions that made the attacks possible remain largely unchanged.