The minister of state for Health and Social Welfare, Dr Iziaq Adekunle Salako, says Nigeria is in the process of developing a national policy on cosmetics to ensure safety and quality of cosmetic products in the country.
He stated this at the high-level segment of the regional awareness raising workshop on elimination of lightening cosmetic products containing mercury and other hazardous substances to health in Gabon.
A statement from the federal ministry yesterday said guidelines on the safety assessment of cosmetic products were being developed to strengthen regulatory oversight and ensure that all products met international safety standards.
The minister said Nigeria might 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 skin-lightening products across the globe put at 77% among Nigerian women by the World Health Organisation (WHO).
While acknowledging that it is the highest rate in the world, he said it reinforced the prevalence of a cultural and societal preference for lighter skin tones in the country.
He said despite the well documented harmful effects, the use of skin bleaching products like creams, ointments, soap, pills and injections was common among non-white populations throughout the world.
He said it was particularly widespread in Africa especially among women and had been described by the WHO as a public health problem requiring urgent action.
He also said not only are men using skin-lightening, they also tend to put pressure on women directly or indirectly to lighten their skin and therefore campaigns must not exclude the menfolk.
He said African countries needed to come up with such a national policy to set clear standards and provide guidance for the manufacture, importation, and sale of cosmetics in their country.
He said the federal government through various initiatives had been working to promote the use of safe cosmetic products free from hazardous substances such as mercury and hydroquinone.
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