The Rwandan government is sending officials across the country to enforce its ban on skin lightening and bleaching products.

卢旺达政府正在全国各地推行美白及漂白产品禁令。

The African country is leading a campaign against skin bleaching and substandard cosmetics, particularly products that include hydroquinone, a spokesman from the Rwanda Standards Board told CNN.

卢旺达标准委员会的一名发言人告诉CNN说，该国正在推行一场反对皮肤漂白和劣质化妆品(尤其是含有对苯二酚的产品)的活动。

"It is been implemented by the Ministry of Health and the Rwanda Food and Drug Authority and the Rwanda Standards Board," said Simeon Kwizera, the public relations and communications officer for the board.

该委员会的公共关系和传播官员西米恩·科维泽拉说：“卢旺达卫生部、卢旺达食品药品局和卢旺达标准委员会共同推行这一活动。”

"Operations are being conducted by technical people," he said. "The police is there to oversee only and make sure that all operations are being conducted in a safe way."

他说：“具体措施将由专业人员开展，警方只起到监督作用，确保所有的工作都安全开展。”

President Paul Kagame sparked discussions on the need to ban the sale of skin "whiteners" on social media in November.

去年11月，卢旺达总统保罗·卡加梅在社交媒体上引发了关于禁止销售皮肤增白产品的讨论。

In response to a post from a woman calling for the government to crack down on skin bleaching, Kagame said on Twitter that bleaching creams are unhealthy, and he called on the country's ministry of health and police to rein "this in very quickly."

一名女子发贴呼吁政府打击皮肤漂白行为，卡加梅在推特上回应称，漂白霜是不健康的，他呼吁本国的卫生部和警方“迅速遏制”这种风气。

Government officials and police are now patrolling markets in the capital, Kigali, and in provinces across the African nation, seizing skin-lightening and bleaching products from vendors.

目前，卢旺达政府官员和警察正在首都基加利以及各省巡查市场，查处没收小贩的美白和漂白产品。

Last month, the country's Standards Board warned the public about the alternative names for hydroquinone, one of the prohibited ingredients in ordinary commercial cosmetics.

上个月，卢旺达的标准委员会警告公众，要警惕易名后的对苯二酚，这是市场上普通化妆品中的禁用成分之一。

"All the ingredients that can help in body bleaching, skin bleaching, are banned," a government spokesperson told CNN.

卢旺达政府的一名发言人告诉CNN说：“一切有助于身体和脸部皮肤漂白的成分都被禁止了。”

"We are now putting much effort, like educating people, going around and seizing those illegal products," Francois Uwinkindi, director of the cancer unit at the Ministry of Health, told Reuters news agency.

卫生部癌症中心的主任弗朗索瓦·乌云金蒂告诉路透社说：“我们现在正大力对民众进行宣传教育，到处查抄非法产品。”

Rwandan police said they seized more than 5,000 banned bleaching products -- including lotions, oils, soaps and sprays -- from beauty shops across the country last month, according to local media, New Times.

据当地媒体《新时代》报道，卢旺达警方称，他们上个月已经从全国各地的美容店查抄了5000多件被禁售的漂白产品，其中包括乳液、精油、香皂和喷雾。

Skin whitening creams are sold in many African countries without restriction, despite increasing push-back from the public and governments on the continent.

尽管非洲越来越多的公众和政府开始抵制美白产品，但是美白霜依然毫无限制地在许多非洲国家销售。

American reality TV star Blac Chyna faced immense criticism after announcing that she had partnered with a beauty line called Whitenicious to launch a face cream in Lagos, Nigeria's largest city.

美国电视真人秀明星布莱克·希纳日前宣布自己和美白产品公司Whitenicious合作，在尼日利亚最大城市拉各斯创立面霜品牌，结果遭到了猛烈的抨击。

Skin-lightening products contain chemicals such as mercury and hydroquinone, which can cause liver damage, reduce resistance to bacterial and fungal infections, and increase anxiety, depression and psychosis, according to the World Health Organization.

世界卫生组织指出，美白产品中包含水银和对苯二酚等化合物，会造成肝损伤，降低人体对细菌和真菌感染的抵抗力，还会加重焦虑、抑郁和精神错乱症状。

The global market for skin-lighteners is projected to reach $31.2 billion by 2024, up from $17.9 billion in 2017, especially in Asia, the Middle East and Africa, according to Global Industry Analysts.

根据全球行业分析家的数据，预计到2024年底，全球美白产品的市场价值将达到312亿美元(约合2103亿元人民币)，相比2017年的179亿大幅增加，而且美白产品的市场份额在亚洲、中东和非洲增长得尤为迅速。

Around 25% of women in Mali, 77% of women in Nigeria, and 59% in Togo regularly use skin-lightening products, according to a 2011 report by the World Health Organization.

世界卫生组织2011年的一份报告称，25%的马里女性、77%的尼日利亚女性和59%的多哥女性定期使用美白产品。

Ghana implemented a ban on skin lightening creams in 2017, following Côte d'ivoire's ban in 2015.

继科特迪瓦在2015年禁止美白产品后，加纳也于2017年实施了美白霜禁令。