Alarm over unsafe use of skin lightening chemicals

NACADA and health experts in Garissa have raised alarm over abuse of skin-lightening creams and chemicals.

Non-communicable disease coordinator Nurta Mohamed said the drugs and chemicals are causing serious side effects on abusers and should be controlled before they get out of hand.

She spoke during a Drug and Substance Abuse Sensitisation campaign organised by the Ministry of Health.

Mohamed said girls as young as 12 are already applying the creams and are using the pills.

“Our women are currently abusing the skin-lightening creams. I don’t know where they got this notion of trying to change their skin colour. We need to be contented with how God created us,” she said.

National Authority for the Campaign Against Alcohol and Drug Abuse vice chairperson Ann Mathu said the board has noted the abuse with a lot of concern.

“We have heard it from health professionals that some of these drugs are causing infertility in women and also affecting the kidneys. A lot of CSs are now happening in hospitals and women are having complications because of change of the body chemistry,” she said.

In Garissa, the product is known as ‘qasqas’ and it is a mixture of many creams.

“We also have another drug called dexamethasone; the local name here is isqarhis. These young girls are taking these drugs without knowing the serious side effects,” Mohamed said.

She said some of the drugs contain mercury, hydroquinones and lead, which can cause kidney problems.

“Currently, there are so many young girls on kidney dialysis, which is directly linked to the chemicals and drugs they use. Some also cause hormonal imbalance and child birth problems,” Mohamed said.

She urged community leaders to conduct public awareness and sensitisation campaigns in schools and the community on the dangers of the drugs.

Mathu blamed the porous borders for the influx of the drugs and urged the board to collaborate with the police to arrest the situation.

Hassan Abdi, a religious leader who admitted that the skin lightening problem is slowly spreading, said partners must work together to arrest the situation.

“As religious leaders we thought bhang, miraa and other drugs were the main vices in our society but now we have a new problem to deal with and is proving to be very difficult,” he said.

“We will pass the message in mosques, public meetings and through radio talk shows because we cannot sit and watch our women suffer.”