Today June 25th the world observers the World Vitiligo Awareness Day, in memory of late pop legend Micheal Jackson.
Vitiligo is a long-term skin problem where patches of the skin lose their normal color due to lack of melanin. Almost 1.2% of the population across the globe suffer from this skin condition. It is rare and often met with stereotypes.
One of the most common misconceptions is that vitiligo is contagious. It is also often called a skin disease instead of a skin disorder or condition. Misconceptions have a significantly negative social and/or psychological impact on patients. It is essential for all to note that the condition is not contagious ‘disease’. It does not spread from getting in direct contact with an affected person just like Albinism.
The idea of a World Vitiligo Day was first nursed by Steve Haragadon. He is founder of the Vitiligo Friends Network, and then developed and finalized by Ogo Maduewesi, a Nigerian vitiligo patient who is the founder and Executive Director of the Vitiligo Support and Awareness Foundation (VITSAF). In her words, “World Vitiligo Day is a day to create extensive awareness on vitiligo. A day dedicated to all living with vitiligo globally”.
The day was first celebrated on the 25th of June 2011 and the main event of its commemoration took place at Silverbird Galleria’s Artrum in Lagos Nigeria, with the participation of several volunteers with different experiences (dermatologists, motivational speakers, dancers, artists, comedians, patients), united by the common will of spreading knowledge and awareness about vitiligo. Simultaneously, other events took place in other parts of the world, organized by local associations.
The choice of June 25 by its founding members is in remembrance of USA’s pop legend Michael Jackson. He suffered from the skin disorder in the 1980s till the day he died on the 25th of June,2009. Each year this day becomes bigger with sufferers, their families, and doctors making an effort to talk about the disease. They raise money for research, give free skin exams and educate physicians on how to best take care of patients. It is an initiative aimed to build global awareness about vitiligo.
It should be noted that, June 25th 2020 is yet to be officially declared by the United Nations as the World Vitiligo Day.
However, a petition and global campaign by its founding members, activists and sufferers is being signed worldwide calling on the UN to mark the day June 25th as the ‘World Vitiligo Awareness Day’ to be celebrated each year. We will keep you posted on the UN’s decision whenever it comes on this.
Meantime it is important to stop the stigmatization of the sufferers as well as those with Albinism.
Stay safe and healthy
