ILDS Strengthens Global Commitment to Skin Health Through WHO Partnership Renewal and Call to Action on Corticosteroid Misuse

The International League of Dermatological Societies (ILDS) recently shared details of 2 organizational developments: the renewal of its Official Relations status with the World Health Organization (WHO),¹ and the release of an official position statement addressing the growing misuse of topical corticosteroids in skin-bleaching products.²

Dermatology Times recently spoke with Henry W. Lim, MD, ILDS president, to explore the implications of these milestones and the organization’s broader mission to improve skin health worldwide.

Henry Lim, MD

A Renewed Global Commitment

In February 2025, the WHO Executive Board officially renewed the ILDS’s Official Relations status for an additional 3-year term, extending through 2027. This distinction is not merely symbolic; as Lim emphasized, it is both a validation and a mandate.

“It is a very important step,” Lim told Dermatology Times. “ILDS has had official relations in the past 3 years based on those relations and the achievements that have been done, because in any type of official relations with WHO, we have to outline as to what we want to do in conjunction with the different departments in WHO.”

This exclusive designation positions the ILDS as the only dermatology-focused organization recognized in official relations with the WHO.

“It shows that what we have done was fulfilling what we have promised to do, what WHO and the ILDS have mutually agreed to do,” Lim noted. “The importance of that is that, not only it is the recognition by WHO of our importance in the global dermatology world, but also in a practical sense, it allows us to work with WHO in various aspects that would promote skin health for the world, which is obviously our mission as an organization.”

This relationship is more than a title: It is an active partnership. Lim shared that the ILDS leadership commits to in-person collaboration.

“We have nurtured that relationship by officially meeting with them, meaning that our leaders go to Geneva to meet with the different departments of WHO in person,” he said. “We spent 2 full days doing that. We can discuss with them as to what we have done, what they would like us to do more.”

From contributing to the 11th revision of the WHO’s International Classification of Diseases (ICD-11) to informing updates to the Model List of Essential Medicines, the ILDS continues to contribute to high-level decision-making.

Perhaps most notably, Lim shared that: “The WHO executive board put in a proposal to state that skin diseases are a global health priority. That is a huge statement, because up to now, skin diseases were not really officially listed in WHO.”

Responding to a Public Health Crisis: Corticosteroid Misuse in Skin Bleaching

Alongside its work with WHO, the ILDS is intensifying efforts to curb the dangerous misuse of topical corticosteroids in skin-bleaching products. In its newly updated Position Statement on the Safe and Appropriate Use of Topical Corticosteroids, the ILDS confronts what it calls a “growing global public health crisis.”

Driven by societal preferences for lighter skin in parts of Africa, Asia, South America, and the Caribbean, the multibillion-dollar skin-bleaching industry continues to thrive, Lim noted. Often unregulated, many products in this market contain potent or super-potent corticosteroids, which are marketed without oversight and used without medical guidance.

“There are some areas in Africa and South Asia where topical corticosteroids can be obtained without prescription, so totally unsupervised,” Lim explained. “Topical corticosteroids are an important part of therapeutic tools within dermatology. However, when they are used for skin bleaching, not supervised, without any regulation, it results in very significant side effects.”

These adverse effects are not hypothetical: They are real, cumulative, and in many cases, devastating.

“What we see is that the side effect of the patients literally using it for 2 years, 3 years, to bleach, to make the skin lighter, and they are developing all the side effects of topical corticosteroids that are well known to all of us,” said Lim.

These include irreversible skin damage, treatment-resistant fungal infections, systemic complications, and profound impacts on mental health. As highlighted in the position statement, the combination of corticosteroids with antifungals and antibiotics marketed as multipurpose creams often misleads consumers and exacerbates conditions by suppressing natural immune responses.

The ILDS’s recommendations include:

• Stronger regulatory enforcement to prevent over-the-counter sales of potent corticosteroids.

• Clinical guidelines to support prescribers and protect patients from inappropriate use.

• Public health campaigns to educate communities about the risks of unmonitored use.

• Collaborative advocacy to shift harmful socio-cultural beauty standards.

The updated position statement has been endorsed by more than 50 ILDS member societies across diverse regions, reinforcing the organization’s global consensus on the issue.

“The best type of skin tone that one should have is the type of skin tone that you're born with, assuming that you don't have any congenital disease that results in alterations in skin color,” he said.

References

1. WHO renews Official Relations status with the ILDS. News release. ILDS. March 26, 2025, Accessed April 9, 2025. https://www.ilds.org/news-events/news/WHO-Renews-Official-Relations-Status-ILDS/
2. ILDS warns against the misuse of topical corticosteroids and calls for global action on skin-bleaching. News release. ILDS. March 31, 2025. Accessed April 9, 2025. https://www.ilds.org/news-events/news/ILDS-Warns-Against-Misuse-Topical-Corticosteroids/