A national emergency has been declared in the country over the prevalence rate of bleaching among Nigerians by the National Agency for Food Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC).
According to the agency, the practice as revealed by data from the World Health Organisation (WHO) has become a menace in the country as Nigeria ranks first in Africa.
The Director-General of NAFDAC, Prof. Mojisola Adeyeye, said the problem has now become a national emergency with rates as high as 77%, Naija News learnt.
The NAFDAC boss at a workshop on Dangers of Bleaching Creams and Regulatory Control, organised by the Association of Nigerian Health Journalists in Kano said Nigeria tops cases of bleaching in Africa followed by other countries like Togo, and South Africa among others.
According to the WHO study, 77% of those engaged in bleaching in the country were women, adding that the statistics are scary and warrant a national health emergency.
Adeyeye stated that “World Health Organisation study in 2018 showed that use of bleaching cream is prevalent among 77% of women, the highest in Africa compared to 59% in Togo, 35% in South Africa and 27% in Senegal.
“These scary statistics show the menace of bleaching creams has become a national health emergency that requires a multifaceted regulatory approach.”
The NAFDAC DG said the federal government’s response to the situation was contained in a letter written to the agency through the Office of Secretary to the Government, Boss Mustapha.
She added that “This workshop is a training of trainers programme with the expectation that participants will assume roles of champions in the vanguard of the campaign against the use of bleaching creams.
“I assure you NAFDAC will engage the media to take to the grassroots the positive impact of our regulatory activities.”