The Federal Government has revealed intentions to work with the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) to tackle lead poisoning in Nigeria, according to Minister of Solid Minerals Development Dr. Dele Alake.
In a statement addressed to Minister Segun Tomori and signed by the Special Assistant on Media, Alake made this known and clarified that the fight against lead poisoning was necessary to protect the lives of host communities. In the statement, the Minister revealed plans to purchase additional equipment for the detection of lead in communities affected by lead poisoning.
The Minister was reviewing the exhibition on the lead campaign at the Lead-Free Future event, which was organised by UNICEF and USAID on the sidelines of the ongoing United Nations General Assembly 79, UNGA 79.
In addition, he stated that eliminating lead from communities will improve the health of mothers and children.
He urged for increased awareness and activism of the fatal effects of lead poisoning on the communities around gold and other mineral mines. In the meanwhile, Alake highlighted that miners must use less lead as part of the Ministry’s promoted local value addition process.
As a way of demonstrating the Minister’s dedication, USAID delegate Dr. Casey Bartrem displayed rock samples that were taken from Nigeria’s Zamfara State during the cleanup after a lead poisoning incident. Bartrem added that USAID planned to work with the Ministry of Solid Minerals Development to reduce the amount of lead used in the extraction and processing of minerals.
