Cameroon’s Health Minister denounces death threats after banning skin whitening products

Aug. 22 (EUROPA PRESS) –

Cameroon’s Health Minister, Manaouda Malachie, has reported receiving death threats after announcing a ban on skin whitening products on Friday last week.

“You cannot imagine the number of phone calls and threats I have received since these press releases came out,” Malachie said in an interview this weekend for local television, which the news portal has echoed. RFI Africa.

Among the products that have been banned was a drink that had become popular, which authorities warned could cause serious health problems.

“People come to do business with something that is not needed,” said Malachie, who has questioned those who intend to do business at the expense of the well-being of the population. “We have to take into account public health as an objective,” she has said.

Among the prohibited products is that of a company whose owner works for the government. This is Nourane Fotsing, founder of the Nourishka cosmetics brand and deputy in the National Assembly for the Litoral region, who has denied that they are products that are harmful to health.

At least five companies sell skin whitening products in Cameroon, which have become very popular in several countries on the African continent, mainly because of the beauty standards promoted by Western media and advertising.