Human Rights Commission, MHRRC want housing project for persons with albinism incorporated in CDF
State-bankrolled Malawi Human Rights Commission (MHRC) and non-governmental organization Malawi Human Rights Resources Centre (MHRRC) have asked members of Parliament (MPs) to consider incorporating the housing project for persons with albinism in the Constituency Development Fund (CDF).
The two institutions said this would enable the Malawi Government achieve its promise of constructing 793 houses for people with albinism across the country within the period from 2021 to 2025.
The promised houses will also have fences around them to enhance security, toilets, bathrooms, store rooms and kitchens all inside a brick wall fence to provide maximum security during day and night to persons with albinism.
There has been an outcry from persons with albinism over delays to construct the houses, a development that prompted MHRRC to organize a panel discussion in Lilongwe on Friday evening where government officials and players in the human rights sector banged heads on how they government can fast-track the project.
The panel discussion was held under the Cultivating an Environment for the Promotion and Protection of the Rights of Persons with Albinism in Malawi (CEPPAM) Project, which receives funding from European Union (EU) through the Christian Blind Mission.
MHRC Commissioner for Persons with Disabilities and the Elderly, Boniface Massa, and MHRRC Programme Officer Enock Chinkhuntha, suggested that the government should consider allocating at least K6 million of CDF towards construction of secure houses for vulnerable populations, including people with albinism.
“Incorporating the project in CDF would enable the government to construct at least one house per constituency, translating into 193 houses for vulnerable people and persons with albinism within one financial year. At such a pace, this country will be on the right track on providing secure houses for persons with albinism,” Chinkhuntha said.
In her remarks after the panel discussion, Christian Blind Mission Country Director, Jolly Kemigabo, said she is impressed with the strides Malawi is making in raising awareness about the rights of persons with albinism in Malawi despite facing financial constraints.
However, Kemigabo stressed the resurgence of the attacks, abductions and killings of persons with albinism calls for the tripling of efforts to tame the vice.
