NAFDAC Warns Manufacturers, Dealers, Retailers Against Sales Of Bleaching Creams

-As It Sensitizes Media On Dangers Of Bleaching

The Director General of the National Agency for Drugs Administration and Control (NAFDAC) Professor Mojisola Adeyeye has warned manufacturers distributors and retailers of bleaching creams to desist , as the agency will soon clamp down on them..

The Director General who handed down the warning while speaking at a one day Northeast Zonal sensitization workshop on.the danger of bleaching creams, held at the NAFDAC office, Maiduguri on Wednesday said with Northwest zonal workshops, the sensitization workshops across the six geopolitical zones has ended and that it is now time for enforcement.

The DG NAFDAC who was represented by the Director. Chemicals, Evaluation and Research, Dr Leonard Omokpariola explained that a World Health Organization (WHO, 2018) study revealed that use of skin bleaching creams was prevalent among 77 percent of Nigerian women which was highest in Africa compared to 59 percent in Togo, 35 per cent in south Africa and 27 percent women in Senegal.

Prof Mojisola said ” this scary scary statistic has shown that the menace of bleaching creams in Nigeria has become a national health emergency that requires a multi-faced regulatory approach. Part of the multi-pronged approach are consultative/sensitization meetings such as this and heightened raids on distribution outlets of bleaching creams”.

“Last year, the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Mr. Boss Mustapha acting on the resolutions of the Senate wrote to NAFDAC stressing the need to take stringent regulatory actions to stem the dangerous tide of rampant and pervasive cases of Nigerians using bleaching creams. We immediately took some decisive steps such as sensitization of the public through different media outlets, enforcement through intelligence and raids in trade fair complexes that have resulted in large seizures and destruction of violative products.”, Prof. Adeyeye said

The DG said the first sensitization actions was the flag-off of Media Sensitization Workshops organized for Journalists and was held in Abuja, Lagos, Kano, Ibadan, Jos, Port-Harcourt, Enugu and the last one in Maiduguri.

She further said ” today’s sensitization workshop is therefore a fulfillment of my promise to cascade it to the six geo-political zones in the country as a deliberate strategy of mobilizing, educating, sensitizing, and challenging Nigerian Health Journalists to play frontline role in our concerted efforts to eradicate the menace of bleaching creams and needless waste of scarce resources in Nigeria”

“This sensitization workshop is a training the Trainers’ programme with the great expectation that participants will assume role of champions in the vanguard of the campaign against use of bleaching creams..It is pertinent to mention that during my recent press conference in Abuja announcing my second tenure in office, I promised to continue the transformative agenda of my first tenure but intensify and widen the scope of our publicity and public awareness campaigns.”, she stressed.

The DG assured that NAFDAC will henceforth constantly engage the Mass Media as its strive to bring down to the grassroot level positive impacts of its regulatory activities., adding that some of her competent officers to carry out the training exercise, it is imperative for her to warn that some of the harmful effects of bleaching creams include cancer, damage to vital organs of the body, skin irritation and allergy, skin burn and rashes, wrinkles, premature skin ageing and prolong healing of wounds.

She urged the participants to assist the NAFDAC in publicizing and disseminating knowledge acquired to the general public.and thanked them for the collaboration and support to rid the country of the menace of substandard and falsified medicines, unwholesome foods, corrosive cosmetics and other substandard regulated products.

Earlier, in his welcome address, the Zonal Director Northeast of the NAFDAC, Dr Bukar Usman said “the workshop was organised for you to know what we do in NAFDAC and What we want you to do in assisting us in the fight against bleaching and its dangers”.

Also, the Director Public Affairs of the NAFDAC, Dr Abubakar Jimoh thanked the working journalists in Borno and Yobe States for the partnership and assured of continued engagements with the media to rid the Nation of the dangers of bleaching creams, drugs and harmful substances.

In their separate remarks, the Chairmen NUJ Borno and Yobe States, Comrade Dauda Iliya and Rajab Ismail said that was the first time the Agency was organising such engagement with the media and thanked the NAFDAC for the workshop .

They assured that the working journalists in their respective states will work with NAFDAC to sensitize the public on the dangers of bleaching creams, drugs and harmful substances.