By Rita Okonkwo
Despite growing awareness of its dangers, skin bleaching remains widespread in Nigeria, with dermatologists warning that the practice is exposing millions, including children and unborn babies, to life threatening health complications.
The Nigerian Association of Dermatologists (NAD) has therefore launched a nationwide campaign, tagged “Embrace Your Skin,” to discourage the use of hazardous skin lightening products, promote acceptance of natural skin tones, and educate the public on the dangers of unapproved creams and locally mixed bleaching products.
Speaking at the campaign held at the Dermatological Clinic of the Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH) Annex, Yaba, the President of the NAD, Dasetima Altraide, said skin bleaching had become a major public health concern with severe medical consequences.
Altraide, a Consultant Dermatologist at the University of Port Harcourt Teaching Hospital, said the practice was linked to skin cancer, chronic skin damage, treatment resistant fungal infections, allergies, and damage to vital organs such as the liver and kidneys.
He also expressed concern over the increasing exposure of children and unborn babies to harmful bleaching substances, citing reports of pregnant women ingesting skin lightening products in an attempt to alter the complexion of their unborn children.
Also speaking, Atinuke Arinola Ajani of Obafemi Awolowo University presented findings from a co-authored study showing that nearly 20 per cent of Nigerian mothers apply skin lightening creams to children below the age of two.
According to the study, although 96.7 per cent of respondents were aware of the health risks associated with skin bleaching, many mothers believed the perceived aesthetic and social benefits outweighed the dangers.
The association also cited data from the WHO African Region and iAHO 2023 showing that skin bleaching prevalence in Nigeria ranges between 40 and 84 per cent, reinforcing the country’s reputation as one of the world’s largest consumers of skin-lightening products.
Altraide called on pharmacists, regulatory agencies, the media and the public to work together to discourage harmful bleaching practices and challenge social perceptions that portray darker skin tones as inferior.
Rita Okonkwo is of the Ministry of Information and Value Reformation, Anambra State
