Lead Poisoning Kills 500 Children In Zamfara, Niger

At a joint press conference held in Abuja on Friday the minister of mines and steel Abubakar Bwari told journalists that eleven ministries will have to work together to overcome practices that result in lead poisoning.

Currently in Nigeria, over six thousand children are undergoing treatment for lead poisoning, a condition that has no cure. This is why the ministry of mines and steel in collaboration with doctors without border want a multi sectoral and community approach to preventing lead poisoning that has killed over five hundred children in Zamfara and Niger states.

Lead poisoning leads to vomiting, abdominal pain, headache and seizure and it’s as a result of illegal and unsafe mining that exposes adults, children and animals to harmful levels of lead.

Since 2010 millions of naira has been spent in controlling the systematic effects. A conference scheduled for Abuja later this month at the national and international levels is expected to discuss preventive measures for dealing with lead poisoning, which in the long run is clearly a better alternative.