Benin banned the sale of skin-lightening products.

Added: 2026-05-18

[00:00:00]Benin just became the latest African country to crack down on skin lightening products. Here's what we know. The country's medicines agency AB Med has banned the sale of products containing [music] toxic substances including hydroquinine, mercury, and corticosteroids. The announcement made headlines, but it's a headline Africa has seen many times before. In 1990, South Africa became the world's first country to restrict the sale of skin lightening creams. It was later joined by Rwanda, >> [music] >> Côte d'Ivoire, Tanzania, Kenya, and Ghana. Benin now joins them. And yet 36 years after South Africa's landmark ban, the country again has a robust now illicit trade in skin lighteners.

[00:00:37]Dermatologists from the University of KwaZulu-Natal found that over 40% of skin lighteners sold in Durban and Cape Town contain mercury. This is not a niche issue. According to WHO estimates, 77% of women in Nigeria use skin lightening products, [music] the highest rate in the world. In Senegal, the rate is 50%, in Congo-Brazzaville 66%, [music] in Ghana 39%, in South Africa 32%.

[00:01:00]In 2023, Nigeria's Food and Drug Agency NAFDAC declared [music] the widespread use of unregulated toxic skin lightening creams a national emergency. Three years later, the products [music] are still on the shelves. As this new Benin ban commences, why do you think this market continues [music] to resurface again and again? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.