These Kids Are No Longer At Risk of Lead Poisoning

A small mining town in northwest Nigeria has virtually eradicated lead poisoning among children following a successful cleanup operation that required joint efforts from local and international agencies.

“It’s a wonderful accomplishment – for the patients and for me,” says Frederick Chukwuemeze, who works with Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) in the mining town of Anka in Zamfara state.

MSF teamed up with OK International, an organization specializing in occupational and industrial health, TerraGraphics International Foundation, an environmental engineering group, and government officials to set up a long-term program to reduce lead poisoning. As part of the intensive monitoring program, more than 8,000 children have been screened and 3,500 received chelation therapy to remove lead deposits from their blood. They also run a “safer mining” program to inform workers about the dangers of lead exposure and to teach them proper safety measures to protect the population. Consequently, no children died of lead poisoning this year.