The Minister of State for Health and Social Welfare, Dr. Iziaq Salako, has urged citizens to refrain from the usage of bleaching cream to avert health risks.
Salako, while speaking in Gabon on Wednesday in a regional awareness-raising workshop on the elimination of lightening cosmetics products, emphasised the widespread use in Africa, particularly among women.
He revealed in a document made available to pressmen in Abuja that the Nigerian government is making plans to develop a national policy on cosmetics to ensure quality cosmetic production.
“Recognising the pervasive use of unsafe cosmetics and the health risks they pose, the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare has taken proactive steps to educate the populace.”
The Minister highlighted that men are also responsible for mounting pressure on women directly or indirectly, who tend to patronise sellers of bleaching cream.
According to the document, it noted that “Nigeria may have been called ‘the world capital of skin bleaching,’ or ‘the skin-lightening hothouse of the world,’ potentially due to its recognition as having the highest usage rates of SLPs across the globe, put at 77 percent among Nigerian women by WHO. This rate is the highest in the world, reinforcing the prevalence of a cultural and societal preference for lighter skintones in the country.”
“Skin-whitening products include skin-lightening or whiteners that are widely used among a wide range of demographic groups regardless of age, socio-economic status, or education level,” he said.
Speaking on the survey taken, he said, “The Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare (through the Cosmetics Safety Management Programme) sampled the opinion of manufacturers and regulatory agents on skin lightening agent usage and found that 52 percent of manufacturers use skin lightening agents in their formulation.”
Nigeria Opinion Institute, a dominating public opinion polling organisation, noted that about 64 percent of Nigerians believe skin bleaching is highly prevalent, while 97 percent believe it is common among Nigerian women.
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Salako explained that the ingredients of bleaching cream, such as mercury, hydroquinone, steroids, and other heavy metals like arsenic, lead, and cadmium, can lead to cancer and other health issues.
Due to the alarming usage rate in Africa, he stressed the public health campaigns, stricter regulatory enforcement, and community-based advocacy to address this issue. He mentioned efforts have been made to eliminate unregistered and counterfeit products from circulating.
Salako said, “Community outreach programmes and media campaigns to educate the public on the risks of using unsafe cosmetics and the importance of verifying product authenticity before purchase are conducted. The introduction of the MedSafety app is being used to ease the reporting of all forms of adverse reactions, including adverse cosmetic events.”
