‘It is not witchcraft’: Namibia moves to tackle vitiligo stigma

Patience Makwele

Misconceptions that vitiligo is caused by witchcraft, is contagious or linked to HIV continue to isolate people living with the skin condition, prompting health experts to announce plans for Namibia’s first research into the disease and the establishment of a national patient support group.

The initiatives were announced during a World Vitiligo Day awareness session in Windhoek, where medical specialists said the country currently lacks national data on the condition despite growing concern over the stigma faced by patients.

Speaking to the Windhoek Observer, Claudia Masiliso Lutombi, a 38-year-old teacher and entrepreneur from the Zambezi region who has been living with vitiligo since the age of 26 shared about enduring years of discrimination and misunderstanding.

Lutombi said people often stare at her because most of the depigmentation is visible on her face, while others wrongly assume she is contagious, bewitched or living with HIV.