Nigeria ranked 1st in cases of bleaching in Africa

According to the National Agency for Food Drug Administration and Control, Nigeria has the highest number of bleaching instances in Africa (NAFDAC).Information Guide Nigeria

Prof. Mojisola Adeyeye, Director-General of NAFDAC, sounded the alarm on the bleaching cream scourge in Nigeria on Thursday, calling it a national emergency that requires immediate action.

On Thursday, she made the statements while kicking off a media sensitization workshop on the Dangers of Bleaching Creams and Regulatory Control hosted by the Association of Nigerian Health Journalists in Kano.

“In 2022 the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Mr Boss Mustapha, wrote to NAFDAC stressing the need to take stringent regulatory action against the rampant cases of some Nigerians using bleaching creams.

“We immediately took action and made a large seizure and destruction of violating products in trade fair.

”Bleaching creams damage vital organs in the body, skin irritation, allergy, skin burn, rashes, wrinkles and prolong healing of wounds.NYSC portal

“Black is beautiful, we don’t need to change our colour,” she said.

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She said that in 2018 the World Health Organisation revealed that the use of bleaching cream is prevalent among 77 percent of Nigerian women, which is the highest in Africa compared to 59 percent in Togo.

The director-general also said South Africa accounted for 35 percent while Senegal had 27 percent.

”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.JAMB Result

“NAFDAC will constantly engage the mass media, as we strive to bring down to the grass root levels positive impact of our regulatory activities.”

Also speaking, NAFDAC Director of Public Affairs, Dr Abubakar Jimoh said the workshop was to educate the mass media with the right information and campaign against the use of bleaching creams in Nigeria.

“Public ignorance is not an excuse before the law. The role of the mass media in the promotion of public health is very important not only for cosmetics and all other NAFDAC regulatory products,” Jimoh said.