The Lagos State Government has taken a major step toward strengthening regulation of cosmetic products and procedures with the presentation of the National Policy on Cosmetics Safety and Health and its Implementation Plan to the Special Adviser to the Governor on Health, Dr. (Mrs.) Kemi Ogunyemi.

The policy was formally presented during the Exit Meeting of the Lagos State Engagement on the National Policy on Cosmetics Safety and Health held at the Conference Room of the Lagos State Ministry of Health on Friday, marking the conclusion of a four-day stakeholder engagement which began on Tuesday, March 10 at the Sojourner Hotel, GRA Ikeja.

Speaking at the meeting, Ogunyemi said the engagement could not have come at a more critical time, citing a recent cosmetic surgery-related death in Lagos which is currently under investigation by the Health Facilities Monitoring and Accreditation Agency (HEFAMAA).

“This engagement could not have come at a better time. Only this week, we had an unfortunate incident where a well-known lady died in Lagos following cosmetic surgery,” she said, adding that relevant authorities are investigating the circumstances, including the drugs used and their sources.

The Special Adviser 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. “When even one person dies, it means something has gone wrong, and we certainly do not want such incidents to happen again,” she said.

Ogunyemi further assured stakeholders that the State Government would ensure effective implementation of the policy across the entire cosmetics value chain, including manufacturers, suppliers, training institutions, and health facilities. She added that Lagos would continue to set the pace for other states in implementing the policy.

Director of Cosmetics Safety in the Food and Drug Services Department of the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, Paul Okhakhu, said the policy was developed to address the increasing cases of adverse health effects associated with unsafe cosmetic products.

“We have been seeing cases of people experiencing adverse events as a result of the use of adulterated, wrongly formulated, or substandard cosmetic products, and because of this the government decided to take the matter seriously,” Okhakhu said.

He explained that the policy, which was validated in Lagos and later launched at the 66th National Council on Health in Calabar, is designed to guide regulatory actions and support the development of state-specific action plans to address cosmetic safety challenges.

Okhakhu added that the Federal Government was developing a national dashboard to track implementation progress across states, noting that Lagos was selected for early engagement because of its strategic role as Nigeria’s commercial hub. “If we are able to get it right in Lagos, we believe we can get it right in other states,” he said.

In her closing remarks, 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.

“Every journey begins with a step, and today marks an important step in the implementation of this policy,” Poluyi said, appreciating the Special Adviser for making time to receive the delegation despite her busy schedule.

She assured the visiting team that the Lagos State Ministry of Health would ensure that the resolutions reached during the engagement translate into concrete actions, adding that the state remains committed to strengthening cosmetics safety and consumer protection.

The four-day engagement brought together 49 participants from federal and state government agencies, regulatory bodies, academia, industry associations, cosmetology practitioners, civil society organisations and the media to assess the cosmetics safety landscape in Lagos and develop a State Cosmetics Safety Action Plan aimed at protecting public health.

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