Sustainable Development Policy Institute has released a new report on mercury exposure from skin whitening creams in Pakistan. Read the executive summary below and download the full publication at the link above.
This project relates to Sustainable Development Goals 3, 6, 8, 14 and 15.
Special thanks to IPEN's Anglophone Africa Regional Coordinator Silvani Mng'anya and IPEN"s Anglophone Africa Regional Hub AGENDA for their important contributions to the development and finalization of the project.
Mercury is a potent neurotoxin, especially to the developing brain, and can affect the developing fetus months after the mother’s exposure. The harmful effects that can be passed from the mother to the fetus include neurological impairment, IQ loss, and damage to the kidneys and cardio- vascular system. At high levels of mercury exposure this can lead to brain damage, mental retardation, blindness, seizures and the inability to speak.
