Cameroon wants to reduce the use of mercury in skin whitening products, in line with commitments made by ratifying the Minamata Convention signed on 18 December 2018.

This international treaty provides for the phasing out and elimination of the use of mercury in a number of products and processes, in order to protect human health and the environment from the harmful effects of this metal.

It sets a limit of 1mg/1kg  for mercury in skin lightening products. But in Cameroon, many of the products in circulation far exceed this limit. “Many contain up to 100 times the authorised quantity. Molecules that should be checked by pharmacists are found in cosmetic products. And yet they strip the skin. Stripping the skin is a side effect of certain drug molecules which, over time, expose the skin to numerous diseases such as cancer“, says the Ministry of Public Health in a report.

Mercury is considered by the World Health Organisation  to be one of ten chemicals or groups of chemicals of very high public health concern, which can cause skin cancer in particular. In addition to skin pathologies, specialists warn that some of these substances, if ingested, can cause diabetes, obesity, hypertension or kidney or liver failure. In August 2022, the Ministry of Health banned the import, manufacture and distribution of cosmetics and personal hygiene products containing substances such as mercury for public health reasons. But these products continue to circulate and are very popular with consumers, who are sometimes unaware of the dangers posed by these harmful products despite warnings from the authorities.

As part of its campaign against mercury and with a view to cleaning up the sector, Minsanté teams carried out raids on cosmetics manufacturing, storage and sales establishments in the Littoral, Centre and South regions from 15 to 30 July. The main aim of these raids was to check the composition of products manufactured, stored and/or sold.