An invisible environmental poison costs millions of lives

“Never before have we seen such a compelling and cheap opportunity to make such a big difference to a large, global killing machine”. This is what Samantha Power, the head of USAID -- the US development directorate, wrote in an article in September.

The USAID leader then turned to a new Partnership for a Lead-Free Future, launched during the United Nations General Assembly last fall. It was promised 1.6 billion NOK from various donors. Norway's Minister of Development Anne Beathe Tvinnereim was present at the launch.

A threat to health and education

In 2010, over 400 toddlers died of acute lead poisoning in Nigeria, as their homes were contaminated by illegal gold mining. This was an extreme case, but on a smaller scale, such disasters occur every single day. In total, lead poisoning contributes to between 1.5 and 5.5 million lives lost each year, potentially more than HIV/AIDS, malaria and road accidents combined. Yet it barely gets any attention.

In low- and middle-income countries, over half of the children have high levels of lead in their blood — above 800 million children globally — with serious consequences for their physical and cognitive development. Studies show that this may be the cause of as much as twenty percent of the learning gap between poor and rich countries.

Lead is also a risk factor for death from cardiovascular disease. It contributes to the extremely high number who die. Overall, lead poisoning is estimated to cost the global economy over 1% in total value added every year, that is, more than ten thousand billion NOK — about twice the Norwegian GDP.

Also in Norway, several thousand children may have elevated levels of lead in their blood, according to a UNICEF report from 2020. Several kindergartens and playgrounds have been polluted and some shooting ranges have been closed. Ingestion of meat from animals shot with lead ammunition is also a significant source. It shouldn't be like that. There is no amount of lead that is considered safe.

Lead, by the way, is just one of tens of thousands of pollutants that can be harmful to children. Air pollution, toxic pesticides, microplastics and other heavy metals such as mercury and cadmium also require attention and stringent measures.

A lead-free future is possible

Fortunately, simple measures can have a great effect. Many Norwegians grew up with lead in gasoline, but this ended in Norway in 1996. In 2021, the United Nations declared leaded motor gasoline for eradicated in every country after a campaign over several decades. Algeria was the last country to impose a ban.

The new Partnership for a Lead-Free Future mentioned at the outset, led by the United States and UNICEF, will support several initiatives. These include: to prevent the addition of lead in spices and paints, to manufacture and market lead-free ceramics, and to protect children working in the recycling of lead-acid batteries. Over the next five years, £1.6 billion has been committed, equivalent to a doubling of global funding in the area. However, it could have been much more. It is wonderful that Norway is part of this, but Norway has not yet committed any financial support. Of course we should do that!

While we eagerly await the details of Norway's contribution, the government deserves praise for an evidence-based and strategic initiative. Exposure to lead is an invisible disaster globally, leading to higher mortality, more disease, lower IQ, less productivity and shorter lives. Norwegian contributions could have made an important difference to millions of lives.

At a time when the aid budget is under a historically great pressure, due to visible and serious crises such as the wars in Ukraine and the Middle East, we have to prioritize. It is therefore important to keep a cool head. Whether something is visible or not is a bad indication of whether it's important.