“Peace at the Margins”: a conversation with Dr. Uyanwune, Mbanefo Chukwuewenite
AUTHORS: DR. MARIATERESA GARRIDO AND MICHELLE HELMAN
Continuing the work that began in 2021, the UPEACE Global Center for Peace Innovation (GCPI) launched a webinar series in June 2025 to envision peace in the era of technological innovation. This series aims to bring together diverse stakeholders who are creatively leveraging both new and established technologies, thereby empowering communities to reduce systemic inequality and promote non-violence and human dignity.
For the inaugural webinar, the GCPI wanted to highlight the importance of health, innovation, and peace in Africa, and to do so, it invited Dr. Uyanwune, Mbanefo Chukwuewenite,[i] the co-founder of the Same As You Foundation, to discuss his work with the albino community in his home country, Nigeria. Dr. Uyanwune’s journey in medicine has been deeply intertwined with social impact, particularly in the areas of global health, albinism advocacy, disability inclusion, and peacebuilding.
The conversation, “Peace at the Margins: Global Health and Positive Peace”, took place online on June 17, 2025, and was moderated by UPEACE Doctoral Candidate Michelle Helman. In the webinar, Dr. Uyanwune offered important insights into how medical and social innovation can advance health and peace for marginalized populations, while contributing to achieving Sustainable Development Goals (SDG), and particularly with SGD 10, “Reduced Inequalities.”
Albinism as a Global Health and Human Rights Concern
Dr. Uyanwune noted that albinism is a condition that affects approximately 3 million people in Nigeria, and it is:
…a rare genetic condition affecting melanin production, leading to little or no pigment in the skin, hair, and eyes. Globally, it poses significant health challenges, including increased risk of skin cancer due to UV exposure and vision impairment. People with albinism often face social stigma, discrimination, and violence, particularly in parts of Africa. Limited access to healthcare, sun protection, and education further increases their vulnerability, making albinism a critical but often overlooked global health and human rights issue.
To continue the discussion, Dr. Uyanwune grounded his presentation on human rights, particularly in the definition of the right to health, and explained that the fulfillment of this right is deeply connected to building positive peace, or in other words, to the creation of social attitudes, structures, and institutions that sustain peace from a health perspective.
For building this, he suggested using the eight pillars of positive peace: well-functioning government, equitable distribution of resources, freedom of information, good relations with neighbors, high levels of human capital, acceptance of the rights of others, low levels of corruption, and a comprehensive business environment.
Yet, before understanding how these pillars can be implemented, he emphasized the importance of comprehending the medical condition and the social environment in the patient’s life. To exemplify it, Dr. Uyanwune discussed how people with albinism face the effects of violence, including low self-esteem, depression, deliberate self-harm, abandonment, infanticide, suicide, and skin cancer.
In the case of skin cancer, the presenter indicated that many individuals in this group lack access to affordable sunscreen or adequate clothing protection, which are essential for preventing UV-related skin cancers. The fact that such life-preserving products remain out of financial reach or scientifically unregulated (e.g., local use of natural substances like avocado oil), demonstrates the need for a systematic approach to overcome the problems faced by people with albinism, that includes policy responses that prioritize equitable access to treatment, education, and protection.
“The door is open for innovation.” Dr. Mbanefo Uyanwune
Women with Albinism: Gendered Dimensions of Marginalization
The situation of women with albinism emerged after a participant’s question, and we want to highly its importance to understand what peace at the margins means for this specific group. When answering the question, Dr. Uyanwune addressed the compounded discrimination these women face, that are not only limited by stereotypes related to the medical condition, but is also impacted by gender norms, cultural myths, and limited access to education and healthcare.
He explained that in some contexts, women with albinism are perceived as sexually contagious or undesirable, leading to marriage exclusion, abandonment, or sexual exploitation. Paradoxically, others may be sought out as partners based on myths of superior sexual performance, further exposing them to harm and control.
Women and girls with albinism are also disproportionately excluded from schooling, often classified as disabled due to their visual impairments or skin sensitivity, and sometimes removed from classrooms altogether. In this aspect, the speaker indicated that in many cases, teacher and staff are not well trained on the medical condition, and as a consequence, instead of reducing the impact of stereotypes, as one could expect, they continue reinforcing them, which is another example of the structural violence women with albinism face.
The intersection presented by Dr. Uyawune demonstrated how disability, gender, and stigma affect women in a disproportional and often understudied manner in Nigeria. This also gave an important opportunity to stress the importance of addressing health and peace from an intersectional perspective.
Climate change and Albinism
Another element that was discussed during the webinar was the effect of climate change on people with albinism in Nigeria. Dr. Uyawune explained that as temperatures rise and UV exposure intensifies, the dermatological risks for people with albinism grow exponentially. Yet, they are almost absent from climate adaptation discussions and decision-making spaces. Their exclusion reveals a deeper issue: those most affected by environmental, social, or economic risks are often those least visible in policy conversations.
He emphasized that to counter the effects of this exclusion, we can use storytelling and narrative justice as tools of innovation. As Dr. Uyanwune stated: “You cannot do good for me if you don’t know what is good for me.” Understanding individuals not just as patients but as members of society who are embedded in families, communities, and cultures that are also impacted by their medical condition calls for a reimagined public health paradigm.
Innovation Rooted in Equity
Innovation does not need to be technologically complex to be transformative. Instead, what is needed is innovation grounded in equity, context, and participation. In this aspect, Dr. Mbanefo stressed that the most meaningful forms of innovation often emerge from the lived experience of marginalized communities themselves; yet, they need to be consulted, empowered, and included in designing responses to their own challenges.
Dr. Uyanwune’s work with the Same As
You Foundation embodies this ethos. Through campaigns like Breaking Labels, and initiatives such as low-cost dermatological outreach, climate-conscious clothing partnerships, and inclusive media productions (e.g., the forthcoming Say talk show), the organization reframes albinism from a medical anomaly to a community-centered issue of belonging and dignity. These interventions promote not only public awareness but also help shift narratives and practices that are essential for enabling societal change.
He stressed that innovation for peace and health does not require advanced technologies, but rather systems thinking in inclusive and equal manner. For example, better coordination between health ministries, education systems, and local communities can improve school retention, diminish stigmatization and exclusion, and facilitate health care by offering timely attention. Such innovation is preventative, multidisciplinary, and sustainability-oriented, aligning with SDGs 3 (Good Health), 4 (Quality Education), 5 (Gender Equality), and 10 (Reduced Inequalities).
Final Thoughts
To advance peace through health, innovation must be understood not as technological advancement alone, but as a human-centered approach rooted in inclusion, participation, and justice. At the national level, this requires
- Multi-sectoral partnerships
- Inclusive education
- Gender-sensitive policies
- Stronger community-based interventions.
From an international perspective, it also demands that global and national health systems expand their lens to recognize rare and neglected conditions like albinism as central to the health and peace nexus.
To conclude, we want to echo the words of Dr. Uyanwune, “innovation does not need to be complex. What matters most is that it is inclusive, equitable, and grounded in the lived experiences of those most affected.”
[i] Dr. Uyanwune Mbanefo, MD has a special interest in creating a just, peaceful, and inclusive society for marginalized people. He is the co-founder of the Same As You Foundation, which uses a positive peace framework to foster resilience and create a peaceful environment for people with albinism. Dr. Uyanwue trained at Nnamdi Azikiwe University medical school in Nigeria and is currently leading a study exploring an innovative modality for treatment of ischemic stroke in collaboration with a research institute in Bangladesh. He is a United People Global Sustainability Leader, Rotary Peace Fellow, mediator with Mediators Beyond Borders International, and holds a postgraduate diploma in Peacebuilding and Conflict Transformation from Makerere University in Uganda.
AUTHOR’S BIO
MARIATERESA GARRIDO
Dr. Mariateresa Garrido is an Associate Professor in the Department of International Law at UPEACE, the Doctoral Committee Coordinator, and the Deputy Director of the Global Center for Peace Innovation. She is an international lawyer and holds a Doctorate from UPEACE and her main research area is related to the exercise of the right to freedom of expression and the protection of journalists in Latin America. She is also researching on the interaction between human rights and Information and Communication Technologies, through the use of mixed methodologies and legal research to explore linkages between the law and new technologies. She also holds two Master’s Degrees; one from UPEACE in International Law and the Settlement of the Disputes and one from the Central University of Venezuela in Public International Law.
MICHELLE HELMAN
Michelle Helman is passionate about facilitating design processes that foster connection and collaboration. She brings 20+ years of experience partnering with global leaders on community-driven change projects such as the Colombian peace process, peace-tech and health innovation in East Africa, and gun violence prevention in the USA. Michelle is a Doctoral Candidate and Peace & Health Innovation Fellow at the University for Peace, a Rotary Peace Fellow, and a Senior Fellow at Portland State University’s Center for Public Service. Holding a MA in Peace & Conflict Studies and a BA in Anthropology, Michelle is also trained as a mediator, Wilderness First Responder, and a Spanish medical interpreter which she learned to speak as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Perú. She also loves to read paperback books and write haiku poems.
