Prevention and treatment for people with albinism

— Ivory Coast —

BACKGROUND

Implementation of a treatment pathway to help people with albinism in Côte d’Ivoire was initiated via the Fondation Pierre Fabre’s call for projects presented at the second African Teledermatology Conference in 2019.

The prevention and treatment programme for people with albinism in Côte d’Ivoire follows the roll-out that began in 2016 of a number of similar projects in five African countries: Tanzania, Malawi, Mali, Burkina Faso and Togo. The Ivorian project entails creating a mobile unit offering medical consultations in 10 regions of the country.

Côte d’Ivoire has little epidemiological data on the disease, but the general census performed in 2014 reported some 6,200 people with albinism in the country. Albinism, a misunderstood condition that is still the subject of irrational beliefs, is not only responsible for needless and preventable skin cancers, but is also a stigmatising disease and it is vital that the prejudices around it be dismantled.

A MULTIDISCIPLINARY INITIATIVE

The project revolves around four complementary areas of intervention:

Information and awareness-raising on the dangers of sun exposure and cancer risks;
Prevention through creation of a local sunscreen production unit and supply of protective clothing and eye protection;
Screening and treatment (medico-surgical and ophthalmological care by the mobile unit and referral of severe cases to Abidjan hospital);
Creation of a patient database to facilitate epidemiological monitoring and conducting research projects.

A MODEL THAT POOLS RESOURCES

The programme is funded by Secours Médico-Social Ivoirien, an NGO that assists albinism sufferers, and brings together many partners: public authorities, members of the scientific and medical communities, and members of civil society.

This cooperation is essential, as it brings together the broadest ensemble of skills and addresses all matters relating to the well-being of people with albinism in Côte d’Ivoire. One example is sunscreen: the formula was developed by the Laboratoires Pierre Fabre in partnership with the Foundation, is produced by the Centre de Prévention des Cancers Cutanés dus à l’Albinisme (Centre for the Prevention of Skin Cancers due to Albinism), and is then distributed to recipients by way of patient associations. There will also be work focused on improving academic support for young patients, employment guidance and resources for job-seekers and support for the elderly.

KEY FACTS
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Priority
Dermatology

Programme
2021 – 2025

Type of involvement
Distributor and operator

Actions

Training of local health workers
Local production and distribution of sunscreen
Mobile medical consultations
Medical treatment and monitoring of skin and eye lesions
Renovation of the Abidjan hospital operating theatre

ACHIEVEMENTS AND PERSPECTIVES

Achievements

10
Côte d’Ivoire regions covered by the project

3,100+
patients aided by 2025

50 000
400-gram jars of SPF 50 sunscreen produced over five years

50
local health workers trained in dermatological prevention and treatment

1
Renovation of the operating theatre at the Treichville University Hospital

Perspectives

A three-phase project to secure scaling

Pilot phase 2020-2022: two years, 1,200 patients, three regions chosen per several criteria (urban areas with high patient concentrations, active patient associations and easily accessible health infrastructures);
Intermediate evaluation phase: assessment, adaptation and adjustments if necessary;
Extension phase 2022-2025: three years, 1,900 additional patients, a total of 10 regions. Project implementation based on lessons learned in the experimentation phase.

PARTNERS

Ivorian Medico-Social Relief
Department of Galenic Pharmacy, Biopharmacy and Pharmaceutical Legislation, Faculty of Pharmaceutical and Biological Sciences, Felix Houphouet Boigny University of Abidjan
Ivorian Ministry of Health
Ivorian Ministry of National Education

Centre de Prévention des Cancers Cutanés d’Abidjan (Abidjan Skin Cancer Prevention Centre)
Ivory Coast Society of Dermatology and Venereology
Local associations of patients with albinism
Treichville and Bonaké University Hospitals, regional hospitals, general hospitals