India, Jan. 27 -- Nigeria's Minister of State for Health and Social Welfare, Iziaq Salako, has expressed concern over the widespread use of skin-lightening products (SLP) in Nigeria and across Africa, despite their known health risks.

He highlighted that Nigeria is among the countries with the highest global usage of SLPs - 77 per cent of the country's women uses skin bleaching, the World Health Organization (WHO) estimated.

The country's recognition as the "the world capital of skin bleaching" underscores a cultural and societal preference for lighter skin tones, Salako stressed, speaking at a workshop in Gabon focused on eliminating these cosmetic products.

To address this issue, Nigeria is developing a national policy on cosmetics...