By Ayomide Otitoju
The Lagos State Government has taken steps to strengthen the 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, Kemi Ogunyemi.
The policy was presented during the exit meeting of the Lagos State engagement on cosmetics safety, held at the Conference Room of the Lagos State Ministry of Health, concluding a four-day stakeholder session that began on March 10 in Ikeja.
Speaking at the meeting, Ogunyemi said the initiative was timely, referencing a recent cosmetic surgery-related death in Lagos currently under investigation by the Health Facilities Monitoring and Accreditation Agency (HEFAMAA).
She stressed that patient safety remains a top priority for the state government, noting that stricter regulation of cosmetic products and procedures is essential to safeguarding public health and preventing avoidable incidents.
Ogunyemi assured stakeholders of the government’s commitment to implementing the policy across the cosmetics value chain, including manufacturers, suppliers, training institutions, and healthcare facilities, adding that Lagos would continue to lead in setting regulatory standards.
Also speaking, Paul Okhakhu, Director of Cosmetics Safety at the Food and Drug Services Department of the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, said the policy was developed in response to rising cases of adverse health effects linked to unsafe and substandard cosmetic products.
He explained that the policy, validated in Lagos and later launched at the 66th National Council on Health in Calabar, is designed to guide regulatory actions and support states in developing tailored implementation plans.
Okhakhu added that a national dashboard is being developed to monitor implementation progress, noting that Lagos was selected for early engagement due to its strategic role as Nigeria’s commercial hub.
In her remarks, the Director of Pharmaceutical Services at the Lagos State Ministry of Health, Olawale Poluyi, described the engagement as a significant milestone in the policy’s implementation in the state.
She reaffirmed the ministry’s commitment to translating the outcomes of the engagement into actionable measures to strengthen cosmetics safety and consumer protection.
The four-day engagement brought together 49 participants from government agencies, regulatory bodies, academia, industry groups, cosmetology practitioners, civil society organisations, and the media to assess the state’s cosmetics safety landscape and develop a comprehensive action plan to protect public health.
