Executive summary: Lead exposure causes extensive health and developmental harms, especially for children; it remains widespread and inadequately addressed in LMICs despite the success of efforts like the leaded gasoline phaseout.
Key points:
Lead exposure irreversibly damages health and cognition, but it is preventable since most uses have safe alternatives.
Lead poisoning affects ~815M children worldwide, over half in LMICs, stunting development and costing trillions in lost GDP.
Major ongoing sources in LMICs include batteries, paint, spices, cookware, and more. Environmental contamination persists.
Eliminating lead exposure should be a top global priority to achieve SDGs and boost economies.
National regulation and enforcement, combined with surveillance, are key to address this in the short and long term.
More funding, research, and advocacy are urgently needed to raise awareness and develop solutions.
This comment was auto-generated by the EA Forum Team. Feel free to point out issues with this summary by replying to the comment, andcontact us if you have feedback.
Executive summary: Lead exposure causes extensive health and developmental harms, especially for children; it remains widespread and inadequately addressed in LMICs despite the success of efforts like the leaded gasoline phaseout.
Key points:
Lead exposure irreversibly damages health and cognition, but it is preventable since most uses have safe alternatives.
Lead poisoning affects ~815M children worldwide, over half in LMICs, stunting development and costing trillions in lost GDP.
Major ongoing sources in LMICs include batteries, paint, spices, cookware, and more. Environmental contamination persists.
Eliminating lead exposure should be a top global priority to achieve SDGs and boost economies.
National regulation and enforcement, combined with surveillance, are key to address this in the short and long term.
More funding, research, and advocacy are urgently needed to raise awareness and develop solutions.
This comment was auto-generated by the EA Forum Team. Feel free to point out issues with this summary by replying to the comment, and contact us if you have feedback.