Abuja, Nigeria – July 10, 2025 — The Albinism Association of Nigeria (AAN) has concluded a two-day capacity building workshop aimed at equipping staff, national leaders, chapter representatives, and community members with advanced knowledge and skills in advocacy, leadership, health rights, and climate action for Persons with Albinism (PWAs).
The workshop, held from 9th to 10th July 2025 in Abuja, brought together participants from across the country, including members of AAN’s technical team, national leadership, state chapters, and community representatives. Also in attendance were officials from the Federal Ministry of Health, the media, and the AAN FCT Chapter.
In a communiqué issued at the end of the event, participants acknowledged the support of the Disability Rights Fund (DRF) for making the workshop possible and commended the technical contributions of facilitators from the health, advocacy, and climate sectors.
Key observations from the deliberations included the lack of structured advocacy frameworks in most state chapters, systemic health service gaps for PWAs — particularly in rural areas — and the disproportionate impact of climate change on the albinism community. Participants also noted underutilization of media for advocacy, limited grassroots leadership skills, and fragmented action planning within chapters.
Over the two days, thematic sessions addressed rights-based advocacy, health rights and service access, leadership and community mobilization, and media advocacy with a climate action focus. Group work produced preliminary chapter-level action plans to guide local interventions.
The communiqué outlined seven major resolutions, including the establishment of advocacy teams in all chapters, prioritization of health-based advocacy, integration of climate action into AAN’s programs, adoption of localized action plans, creation of a national mentorship network, strategic media partnerships, and a push for full implementation of the National Policy on Albinism across states.
The workshop ended with a call to action urging governments, development partners, media, civil society, and traditional leaders to join AAN in championing the rights, dignity, and inclusion of PWAs.
