Jane Betts writes:

My friend Justine in Uganda recently died from skin cancer, aged 32. A single parent of three young children, she had albinism, a genetic condition which meant she lacked the protective pigment melanin in her skin and was highly vulnerable to the harmful effects of the equatorial sun.

It’s heartbreaking that Justine’s children lost their mum to this most preventable form of cancer. It simply shouldn’t have happened.


That’s why Advantage Africa is working to end skin cancer for people with albinism in Uganda through regular skin clinics for prevention and treatment. These clinics are a lifeline for 1,000 people with albinism and we want to expand their reach to a further 500. We worked for several years to secure funding towards this work from the British Government, and were devastated in April when our promised grant was withdrawn due to cuts in the UK Aid budget. Despite this setback, we’re more determined than ever to prevent further needless deaths like Justine’s.

It’s a daunting prospect, but on 3rd October I’m running the London Marathon to fundraise for this life-saving work. Please will you sponsor me on our GlobalGiving page to help a further 500 people with albinism to stay safe from skin cancer?

Thank you so much and best wishes - Jane.

GlobalGiving’s new partnership with Advantage Africa aims to provide more opportunities to increase our impact, for example by enabling our supporters to donate in US dollars, Euros and many other currencies. If you can, please share the link to our End skin cancer for people with albinism in Uganda page widely to ensure we meet our target for this life-saving work.