Momentum is building in the global fight against lead poisoning, delegates at the Second Annual Research Conference on Global Lead Exposure have heard. The event, organised by the Center for Global Development Europe, highlighted new initiatives and a growing body of research aimed at tackling a scourge that kills millions each year.
Mikaela Gavas, managing director at the Center for Global Development Europe, cited major achievements over the past year, including Bloomberg Philanthropies' Lead Poisoning Prevention Initiative and a new initiative from the Asian Development Bank. However, the scale of the problem remains vast, with the World Health Organisation estimating that lead causes 3.5 million cardiovascular deaths annually and affects 815 million children worldwide.
The economic cost is estimated at $6 trillion (£4.5 trillion) per year, equivalent to seven per cent of the global economy, according to a study published in The Lancet. “Even relatively low levels damage learning and behavior,” said Ms Gavas, noting that lead exposure is linked to behavioural problems in childhood and higher crime rates later in life.
Lee Crawfurd, also from the Center for Global Development, noted that the world is “making progress in addressing” lead poisoning, with “great momentum in the last couple of years”. The conference received 150 research paper submissions, up from 100 in 2025, covering topics such as lead in traditional eyeliner products used on children in Pakistan, India, Morocco and Egypt, and lead in consumer products in Malawi and Ghana.
Progress in tackling lead poisoning comes amid cuts to foreign aid budgets from countries including the US and UK. One conference attendee from a US company selling blood lead-testing devices suggested that the momentum may be due to the decline in support for other health areas, describing lead poisoning as “an area that has until now been neglected, which everyone can get behind”.
The conference also heard from Kenyan environmental activist Phyllis Omido, who campaigned for a $12m (£9.2m) court ruling for a community poisoned by lead pollution. She asked: “How should we all reconcile the concept of civilisation and morality with the reality of the burden forced upon the weakest among us?”
