The Lagos State Government has taken a significant step towards strengthening the regulation of cosmetic products and procedures with the presentation of the National Policy on Cosmetics Safety and Health and its Implementation Plan. The policy was formally presented to the Special Adviser to the Governor on Health, Dr. (Mrs.) Kemi Ogunyemi, during a stakeholders’ engagement meeting.
The move is aimed at addressing the increasing cases of adverse health effects associated with unsafe cosmetic products. According to the Director of Cosmetics Safety in the Food and Drug Services Department of the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, Paul Okhakhu, the policy will guide regulatory actions and support the development of state-specific action plans to address cosmetic safety challenges.
Dr. Ogunyemi stressed that patient safety remains a priority for the Lagos State Government, noting that the regulation of cosmetic products and procedures is crucial to protecting citizens. She assured stakeholders that the State Government would ensure effective implementation of the policy across the entire cosmetics value chain.
The Lagos State Government has also committed to setting the pace for other states in implementing the policy. The state was selected for early engagement due to its strategic role as Nigeria’s commercial hub.
The engagement, which brought together stakeholders from federal and state government agencies, regulatory bodies, academia, industry associations, cosmetology practitioners, civil society organisations, and the media, developed a State Cosmetics Safety Action Plan aimed at protecting public health.
The Director of Pharmaceutical Services in the Lagos State Ministry of Health, Pharm. Olawale Poluyi, described the engagement as an important milestone in the implementation journey of the policy in the state, assuring that the ministry would ensure that the resolutions reached during the engagement translate into concrete actions.
