On the 9th of February 2023, the National Agency for Food Drug and Administration Control (NAFDAC), declared a state of emergency on skin bleaching after being ranked number one in Africa in the use of bleaching creams.
The World Health Organisation statistics show that 77% of Nigerian women use bleaching creams. This is a worrisome statistic and the declaration by NAFDAC makes it more troubling.
I believe for too long now, African women have had certain perceptions of what beauty is ideally supposed to look like which has influenced Nigerian women not to be comfortable with the color of their skin and I believe that these bleaching cream companies have constantly exploited their untrue insecurities and perceptions solely focusing on their profits and not considering the possible mental and physical health consequences that could occur because of these products without effectively communicating the side-effects to their users.
One enticing factor used to lure them in purchasing their products is their relative cheapness, some are sold for as low as N500 ($1). It gets scarier to know that parents are now applying these creams on their children, disrupting their physiological development and exposing them to different forms of mental stress such as low self-esteem, and identity crises.
There is no established health benefit of skin bleaching. Skin bleaching depletes the concentration of melanin in the skin.
Melanin is a natural skin pigment that gives the skin its color, it is produced in cells called melanocytes and it is determined by genetics.
Some of the major and common chemicals used in bleaching creams are Hydroquinone and Mercury. Mercury used in bleaching creams inactivates the enzyme that produces melanin and constant exposure to mercury results in acute and chronic toxicity and can cause high blood pressure, fatigue, and neurological damage such as memory loss and kidney damage.
Some other harmful effects of skin bleaching include skin burns and irritation, damage to vital organs, skin aging, and prolonged wound healing.
It is interesting to know that there is a policy established in 2019 (the Nigerian Cosmetic Products Regulations 2019) that addresses bleaching practices by prohibiting the production, importation and sale of cosmetics that contain harmful bleaching agents such as hydroquinone, mercury and steroids. Unfortunately, this policy has yet to have successful implementation seeing as 77% of Nigerian women are still applying bleaching creams.
I believe that this is an “awaiting epidemic” one that could and must be avoided considering the fact that the health care system in Nigeria is still struggling to cater to the present needs of the people and NAFDAC must take immediate and effective steps to regulate the use of bleaching creams or outrightly ban them just like Rwanda, South Sudan, South Africa, and Ghana have done to prevent an “epidemy” of skin bleaching-related diseases, particularly kidney diseases.
The Federal government and NAFDAC in conjunction with the Nigerian Custom Services must take cogent steps and create sustainable strategies to enforce the policy developed by NAFDAC.
NAFDAC should ensure that the screening processes used in certifying creams become stringent and precise in eliminating products that do not meet the standard of safety before going into circulation.
NAFDAC must also do a thorough identification and accumulation of all popular and infamous bleaching creams to inspect their Certificate of Registration and NAFDAC Registration Number as it is known that a significant amount of these products are not registered products but are manufactured and sold anyways.
One resource that must be provided and utilized adequately is the use of media outlets to change the perceptions of women and children on the feeling of inferiority as regards their skin; tv shows, programs that depict the beauty of their skin, trending Twitter feeds, and hashtags (e.g., #blackisbeauty, #brownskingirl) and to also create awareness about the possible side effects in the use of bleaching creams.
My hope is that with the declaration of a state of emergency, NAFDAC will take immediate steps in solving this issue.
Op-Ed Piece
Aderoju Lawal is a B.Sc graduate in Biochemistry. Masters student of Public and Population Health at Memorial University of Newfoundland, Canada.
