Over 35 mln Bangladesh children face dangerous lead poisoning

DHAKA, Nov. 6 (Xinhua) — The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has called for a multi-sectoral action plan among all relevant Bangladesh ministries to respond to lead poisoning and strengthen laboratory capacity in the health and environment sectors to test heavy metals.
Globally, Bangladesh ranks fourth in the number of children affected by lead pollution, and over 35 million children in the country have dangerously high lead levels in their blood, UNICEF reported in a workshop in Dhaka on Tuesday.
The workshop showcased evidence and findings from previous research that show alarming blood lead levels among children, the sources, and the contamination pathways affecting them and raised the importance of having national representative data on blood lead levels.
Bangladesh’s Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, jointly with UNICEF, organized the national workshop, marking the International Lead Poisoning Prevention Week.
“Unlike adults, children are more severely impacted by heavy metals in general and lead poisoning in particular: the effects are life-long and irreversible. It is preventable, with clear laws and the right buy-in from the private sector in particular, the enormous health and education costs — not to mention the costs to individual women and children can be dramatically reduced,” said Rana Flowers, UNICEF Representative to Bangladesh.
“Together with partners, UNICEF is fully committed to supporting the Interim Government in fulfilling its vision of creating a healthier and safer Bangladesh where every child can grow, play, and learn in an environment free from lead and toxic metals,” said the representative.
“Lead and heavy metal poisoning is a silent crisis that demands our immediate and unwavering attention,” said Syeda Rizwana Hasan, adviser of the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change.
She said the government is committed to collaborating with all stakeholders to create a lead-free future for all and ending lead poisoning by 2040.
“I urge all stakeholders to actively participate in this workshop. Together we can develop a comprehensive protocol and action plan to identify the major sources of toxic metal exposure in Bangladesh,” the adviser added.
Through the partnership for a Lead-free Future (PLF), a global initiative aimed at combatting lead exposure in children, envisioning a world free from lead exposure, Bangladesh has set an ambitious goal to end childhood lead poisoning by 2040. ■