FG launches National Working Group to eliminate lead poisoning

The Federal Government has inaugurated the National Interagency Working Group on Lead Poisoning Elimination in Nigeria, bringing together key stakeholders to confront the growing public health crisis.

The Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Professor Muhammad Ali Pate, represented by the Ministry’s Permanent Secretary, Daju Kachollom, through Mrs. Ladidi Bako-Aiyegbusi, Director/Head of the Health Nutrition Department, described the inauguration as a “historic milestone in safeguarding public health.”

This was disclosed in a statement signed by the Ministry’s head of Information & Public Relations, Alaba Balogun, in Abuja on Wednesday.

Speaking at the opening of a two-day workshop on the finalization and validation of the Five-Year National Strategic Plan on Lead Poisoning Elimination, the Minister underscored the urgency of the government’s intervention.

According to him, “Lead poisoning is not just an environmental concern; it is a public health crisis that silently erodes the well-being of our children, causing irreversible damage to their developing brains and nervous systems.

“For adults, it contributes to hypertension, kidney dysfunction, and reproductive challenges.”

Nigeria has recorded devastating outbreaks of lead poisoning, notably in Zamfara State in 2010 where more than 400 children died, and in Niger State in 2015. Fresh cases were also reported in Zamfara and Sokoto States in 2024.

To combat the crisis, the Ministry has provided laboratory equipment such as lead care machines and spectrophotometers, supported treatment with chelation therapy in collaboration with Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), strengthened surveillance, and conducted soil remediation and community education.

The Coordinating Minister explained that the newly inaugurated working group will serve as a national platform to harmonize strategies, strengthen surveillance, and advance evidence-based interventions. Its mandate includes assessing lead exposure, reviewing policies, building health worker capacity, and recommending sustainable financing for long-term solutions.

He emphasized that eliminating lead poisoning requires a multisectoral approach, involving the Federal Ministries of Environment, Solid Minerals Development, Steel Development, Agriculture, Water Resources, regulatory agencies such as NESREA, NAFDAC, and SON, as well as civil society, academia, and development partners including UNICEF, WHO, Resolve to Save Lives, and MSF.

“Our collective priority is prevention, ensuring that our environment, crops, homes, workplaces, and water sources are free from lead contamination,” Pate declared.

Also speaking, Mrs. Adegbite Olufunmilola, Director of Epidemiology Division and National Coordinator, Lead Elimination Programme, said the National Lead Elimination Policy and the Five-Year Strategic Plan would soon be launched as part of broader efforts to eradicate lead poisoning across the country.

“With stronger collaboration, community awareness and enforcement, we believe lead elimination in Nigeria can be achieved,” she affirmed.

In his remarks, Dr. Ganiyu Jamiyu, Chief Consultant Epidemiologist at the Federal Ministry of Health & Social Welfare, described the strategy as a major step toward reducing lead toxicity and other heavy metal exposures, particularly in Zamfara, Sokoto, and Niger States.

Highlighting the impact on children, he noted: “We must save the future generations and that is why the Coordinating Minister made this initiative a priority.”

The workshop was organized by the Ministry in collaboration with relevant MDAs to validate the Five-Year Strategic Plan on Lead Poisoning Elimination, setting the stage for effective policy reforms and coordinated national action.