In her opening remarks at the South-South media sensitization on bleaching cream in Port Harcourt, the capital of Rivers State, Professor Mojisola Adeyeye, Director General of the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control, NAFDAC, lamented the high rate of skin bleaching among Nigerians.
Prof. Adeyeye added that bleaching has turned into a national health emergency as a result of 2018 WHO report. He was represented by Dr. Leonard Omoboriola, Director, of Chemical Assessment and Research, NAFDAC.
According to a 2018 study by the World Health Organization (WHO), 77% of Nigerian women use skin bleaching cream, which is the highest percentage in Africa, compared to 59% of women in Togo, 35% of women in South Africa, and 27% of women in Senegal.
“These statistics have shown that the menace of bleaching cream in Nigeria has become a national health emergency that requires a multifaceted and regulatory approach,” she stated.
She cited a number of detrimental effects of bleaching cream, including cancer, injury to critical bodily organs, wrinkles, and a protracted healing time for wounds, while highlighting the necessity to take strict action to reduce its usage in the nation.
Although there hasn't been a recent survey to reveal the percentage of women in Nigeria bleaching their skin, experts concur that even males are bleaching their skin more frequently than before.
According to the NAFDAC DG: “This sensitisation workshop is a training course with the great anticipation that participants would adopt the role of the champions in the vanguards of the battle against the use of bleaching cream.”
The workshop was attended by representatives of the Nigerian Pharmaceutical Society, Nigerian Customs, the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, supermarket owners, and dealers in cosmetics, among others.
