Elimination of mercury-containing skin lightening products
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Skin-lightening products (SLP), also known as skin bleaching products, are used to makes the skin lighter by reducing the amount of melanin in the skin. Melanin is a dark brown to black pigment in the skin that is increased during exposure to the sun. The bleaching result is achieved by the use of potentially harmful ingredients such as, among others, toxic mercury compounds.
The health impacts of mercury are numerous including kidney and nervous system damage and skin problems. Exposure of the fetus to methylmercury poses particular danger to the unborn child.
The World Health Assembly Resolution 67.11 (2014) on the Public health impacts of exposure to mercury and mercury compounds: the role of WHO and ministries of public health in the implementation of the Minamata Convention requests the Director-General to facilitate WHO’s efforts to provide advice and technical support to Member States to support the implementation of the Minamata Convention on Mercury in all health aspects related to mercury.
Article 4 of The Minamata Convention on Mercury requires all Parties of the Convention to not allow the manufacture, import or export of cosmetics (with mercury content above 1ppm) including skin lightening soaps and creams.
WHO recognizes that cosmetics and soaps containing mercury remain in common use in many African, Asian and Caribbean countries. WHO together with the Global Environment Facility (GEF) United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the Biodiversity Research Institute (BRI) , Gabon, Jamaica and Sri Lanka a pilot project has been initiated to learn and document some of the best practices including for regulating, analytical capacity and public awareness to scale-up and eliminate the use of mercury for skin lightening purposes..
6 December 2023
Report of the Global Eliminating Mercury Skin Lightening Products (SLPs) Kick-off...
The project, “Eliminating Mercury Skin Lightening Products (SLPs)” was developed to reduce the risk of exposure to mercury added products through activities...
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31 May 2023
Tackling skin lightening’s harms
A project in Gabon, Jamaica and Sri Lanka to eliminate mercury in skin-lightening products is highlighting the challenges faced in achieving that aim....
The Minamata Convention on Mercury is a global, legally binding treaty, which was adopted in 2013 and entered into force on 16 August 2017. The core...
This document provides an annotated bibliography of World Health Organization (WHO) key information resources relevant to the Minamata Convention on Mercury...
15 December 2019
Strategic planning for implementation of the health-related articles of the Minamata Convention on Mercury:...
The Ministries of Health in Lao People’s Democratic Republic (PDR) and Sri Lanka applied WHO’s guidance “Strategic Planning for Implementation...
3 November 2019
Mercury in skin lightening products
Mercury-containing skin lightening products are hazardous to health and as a result have been banned in many countries. Even in some countries where...
Mercury is toxic for humans, and the toxic effects of different forms of mercury have been extensively studied. Human biomonitoring is recognized as the...
This publication describes the design of a survey for assessment of prenatal exposure to mercury using human biomonitoring. The selection of target populations...
23 April 2015
Resolution WHA67.11. Public health impacts of exposure to mercury and mercury compounds: the role of...
The Sixty-seventh World Health Assembly, adopted this Resolution to welcome the formal adoption of the Minamata Convention on Mercury and encourage Member...