Media urged to spotlight Pakistan’s childhood lead poisoning crisis

KARACHI, Jul 20 (APP):Researchers, government officials and (United Nations Children’s Fund) UNICEF representatives on Monday warned that millions of Pakistani children remained vulnerable to lead poisoning and urged journalists to highlight the largely overlooked public health threat and its preventable sources.

The call came at a day-long media workshop organised by the Lead Exposure Elimination Project (LEEP) in collaboration with UNICEF Pakistan and Commsman Consultants here at the Karachi Press Club. More than 30 health and environment journalists from leading print, electronic and digital media organisations attended the workshop, where researchers, policymakers and regulators shared the latest evidence on childhood lead exposure, major sources of contamination and measures needed to reduce exposure across Pakistan.

Professor Dr. Zafar Fatmi of Aga Khan University described childhood lead poisoning as a silent public health problem because most affected children show no obvious symptoms despite suffering irreversible neurological damage.

He said there was no safe level of lead exposure and children were commonly exposed through deteriorating lead paint, lead-adulterated spices, traditional cosmetics such as surma and informal lead-acid battery recycling. Since the damage often remained unnoticed until it became permanent, he said prevention should remain the primary focus.

Dr. Humaira Irshad, Health Specialist at UNICEF Pakistan, presented findings from the Pakistan Childhood Lead Exposure Survey, which screened 2,175 children aged 12 to 36 months in seven high-risk cities. She said around one in four children had elevated blood lead levels, while Karachi recorded one of the highest prevalence rates, with nearly 39 percent of children in surveyed high-risk communities having elevated blood lead levels.

She clarified that the survey covered selected high-risk urban communities and was not nationally representative, underscoring the need for a nationwide survey to determine the true burden of childhood lead exposure in Pakistan.

Country Head of LEEP Pakistan, Abid Hasan said the findings highlighted the need for a nationally representative blood lead level and source identification survey to determine the true extent of lead exposure across Pakistan and formulate a comprehensive multisectoral national action plan.

He said international development partners were willing to support such a survey, which would help guide coordinated action by the health, environment, industry and food safety sectors.

He said LEEP Pakistan was currently working to eliminate lead exposure from three priority sources: decorative paints, traditional eyeliners (surma/kajal) and lead-adulterated turmeric. Pakistan had already introduced a mandatory limit of 90 parts per million (ppm) for lead in decorative paints and a maximum limit of five ppm for turmeric, while the Pakistan Standards and Quality Control Authority (PSQCA) was working towards introducing a national standard for lead in surma, he added.

Hasan said collaboration between government agencies and development partners had already produced encouraging results, with regulatory efforts reducing lead in decorative paints and sustained campaigns by the Sindh Food Authority significantly lowering the sale of lead-adulterated turmeric.

He urged journalists to play an active role in raising awareness about preventable sources of lead exposure and promoting evidence-based public discussion on the issue.

LEEP Pakistan Programme Manager, Asad Pabani highlighted the global burden of childhood lead exposure and outlined the organisation’s work to eliminate lead poisoning from consumer products. He said LEEP was working in more than 40 countries with governments, researchers, industry and civil society to identify sources of lead exposure, strengthen regulations and reduce children’s exposure to lead.

Regional Director of the Sindh Environmental Protection Agency (SEPA), Imran Sabir said the agency was taking action against illegal lead-acid battery recycling units and other polluting activities, but operators frequently shifted their operations after enforcement action. He sought the media’s support in identifying environmentally hazardous activities and creating public awareness.

Director Technical of the Sindh Food Authority, Dr. Ahmed Ali Shaikh said the authority had intensified market inspections, laboratory testing and awareness campaigns to curb food adulteration. Referring to its campaign against lead chromate in turmeric, he said that when inspections began, more than 90 percent of turmeric samples contained lead chromate.

Continuous enforcement, trader engagement and awareness campaigns had reduced contamination to around five percent, demonstrating that sustained government action could significantly reduce public exposure to hazardous consumer products.

Senior health and environment journalist M. Waqar Bhatti urged journalists to investigate environmental pollution, unsafe industrial practices, contaminated consumer products and regulatory enforcement, saying accurate, evidence-based reporting could help create public awareness and support stronger policy action to reduce lead exposure.