The Ministry of Health (MoH), in collaboration with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and development partners, with financial support from Pure Earth, has commemorated Lead Awareness Week 2025.
The campaign under the theme “No Safe Level: Act Now to End Lead Exposure “seeks to raise national awareness of the harmful effects of lead exposure and to promote coordinated action to eliminate lead in paints, consumer products, and the environment.
The Chief Director of MoH, Mr. Frank Rajah said lead exposure remains a serious public health risk to children, pregnant women and workers.
“Lead poisoning can cause irreversible health effects such as developmental delays, learning disabilities, brain damage, and damage to the kidneys, other vital organs and also carry significant social and economic costs, diminishing human productivity and impeding sustainable development” he emphasized.
He noted that this year’s celebration underscores the Ministry’s commitment to advancing preventive health measures, strengthening regulation and fostering multi-sectoral partnerships to achieve a lead-free and healthier Ghana, he added.
The representative of WHO to Ghana, Dr. Fiona Braka, said according to the Institute of Health Metrics and Evaluation, over 1.5 million deaths globally in 2021 were due to lead exposure and most were caused by cardiovascular effects. Adding that lead exposure also accounted for 33 million disability-adjusted life years lost.
She emphasized that children absorb lead more than adults and “This can cause reduced IQ, learning difficulties, and behavior problems. Lead exposure in pregnant women is linked to miscarriage, stillbirths, premature births, low birth weight, and malformation” she noted.
According to her, WHO, through the Bloomberg Philanthropies lead poisoning prevention initiative, would support high-need countries, including Ghana, to adopt and implement clinical management guidelines for lead exposure and strengthen national capacities to detect and respond to lead poisoning cases.
Grace Acheampong, ISD
