NAFDAC declares state of emergency on rising menace of bleaching

The National Agency for Food Drug Administration and Control, NAFDAC, has declared a State of Emergency on bleaching.

NAFDAC said the decision was made after establishing that Nigeria today has been ranked first in cases of bleaching.

Professor Mojisola Adeyeye, the Director General of NAFDAC, raised the alarm on the menace of bleaching creams in Nigeria, saying the problem has become a national emergency that calls for serious attention.

She said this while flagging off a media sensitization workshop on Dangers of Bleaching Creams and Regulatory Control organized by the Association of Nigerian Health Journalists in Kano on Thursday.

The NAFDAC DG added that 77 percent of those engaged in bleaching in Nigeria are women, saying this calls for a multifaceted approach in fighting the menace of bleaching creams, which she warned have fatal health hazards.

“The World Health Organization 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.

She also explained that in response to these statistics, the Federal Government, through the office of the Secretary to the Government, Boss Mustapha wrote to NAFDAC last year seeking stringent measures to be implemented against the menace.

Adeyeye added that sensitization workshops in the six geopolitical zones were part of the measures being taken.