Nigeria Ranks 1st in Use of Bleaching Creams in Africa, NAFDAC Declares Health Emergency
The National Agency for the Administration and Control of Food and Drugs (NAFDAC) has labelled the use of bleaching creams a significant national health emergency in Nigeria.
The development follows Nigeria's ranking as Africa's #1 in the use of bleaching products.
On Thursday, NAFDAC Director-General, Mojisola Adeyeye, made this announcement at the beginning of an Association of Nigerian Health Journalists-sponsored media sensitization workshop on the risks of bleaching creams in Kano.
According to Adeyeye, seventy-seven percent of Nigerian women use skin lightening products.
"The World Health Organisation study in 2018 revealed that the use of skin bleaching cream is prevalent amongst 77 per cent of Nigerian women, which is the highest in Africa compared to 59 per cent in Togo, 35 per cent in South Africa and 27 per cent in Senegal.
“These scary statistics have shown that the menace of bleaching creams in Nigeria has become a national health emergency that requires a multi-faceted regulatory approach,” she said.
Adeyeye further mentioned that the federal government is trying hard to establish strict actions to combat the problem.
The NAFDAC director stated that workshops were held to raise awareness in each of the six political regions to discourage the usage of bleaching products.
"This sensitization workshop is a training of trainers program with the great expectation that participants will assume roles of champions in the vanguard of the campaign against the use of bleaching creams.
“I wish to assure you that NAFDAC will henceforth constantly engage the mass media as we strive to bring down to the grass levels the positive impact of our regulatory activities.”
Adeyeye further cautioned against the bleaching process, saying, "Even though I have assigned some of my competent officers to carry out this training, it has become imperative for me to warn that some of the harmful effects of bleaching creams include cancer, damage to vital organs in the body, skin irritation and allergy, skin burn and rashes, wrinkles, premature ageing and prolonged healing of wounds."