The Federal Government has raised the alarm over the estimated 80 million Nigerian children exposed to lead poisoning and called for a decisive shift from detecting lead exposure to preventing it at its source.

Consequently, the government has unveiled a five-year strategic plan aimed at preventing and eliminating the toxic substance’s threat to public health and the environment.
Speaking at the commemoration of the 2026 International Lead Poisoning Prevention Week on Wednesday in Abuja, Minister of State for Health and Social Welfare, Dr Adekunle Salako, said lead poisoning remained a major public health and environmental challenge in Nigeria, with potentially devastating and lasting consequences, particularly for children, pregnant women and women of childbearing age.

According to the minister, individuals can be exposed to lead without showing immediate symptoms, making prevention, early identification and timely intervention critical to protecting vulnerable populations.
He said: “We cannot treat our way out of lead poisoning; we must prevent exposure wherever possible.”
Salako explained that the Federal Government was strengthening a multisectoral response through the Inter-Agency Working Group on Lead Poisoning Prevention and Elimination, which brings together relevant ministries, departments and agencies, development partners and other stakeholders.

He said the new strategic plan would provide a national framework for coordinated action to strengthen surveillance, address environmental and occupational sources of exposure, improve regulatory enforcement and establish clearer accountability mechanisms.
The minister added that a costed three-year national roadmap was being developed to translate the plan’s priorities into practical, time-bound and measurable interventions.
He urged state governments, regulatory agencies, development partners, industries, civil society organisations and communities to ensure the plan was implemented rather than left as a policy document.
Salako also identified Lagos, Ogun, Zamfara and Sokoto as priority states for the development of state-specific lead prevention and control action plans, reflecting the different sources and pathways of exposure across the country.

He cited environmental investigations and children’s blood lead assessments in Lagos, as well as the experience in Ogijo, Ogun State, as evidence of the need for stronger environmental controls, safer battery recycling practices, regulatory oversight and sustained compliance monitoring.
The minister called for improved surveillance of soil, dust, water and industrial emissions, alongside stronger monitoring of consumer products and commodities that may contain lead.
He stressed the need to strengthen laboratory capacity, occupational health safeguards, product standards and enforcement mechanisms, including at points of entry.

Salako noted that the government also intended to improve the link between the identification of elevated blood lead levels and appropriate clinical assessment, referral, environmental investigation and follow-up.
He said the launch and dissemination of the Five-Year Strategic Plan on Lead Poisoning Elimination in Nigeria marked an important step towards a coordinated national response to the problem.

The minister further advised Nigerians to consume nutrient-rich foods containing calcium, iron and vitamin C, while emphasising that dietary measures must complement, not replace, efforts to eliminate exposure.
Salako said the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare would continue to work with relevant stakeholders to translate evidence into policy and policy into measurable action.
He urged all partners to use the commemoration to strengthen surveillance, improve compliance and enforcement, develop state-specific action plans and ensure that communities were placed at the centre of prevention efforts.

In her remarks, a consultant with the United Nations Children Fund (UNICEF) Dr Sarah Ango, described lead poisoning as a largely preventable but often invisible threat to children’s health, development and future potential.
She said recent evidence generated through government-led efforts, with support from UNICEF and other partners, underscored the urgency of identifying exposure sources and protecting vulnerable children and communities.
Ango stressed that no level of lead exposure was safe for children, urging stakeholders to move beyond identifying the problem to implementing practical measures that address its root causes.
She said UNICEF remained committed to supporting the government through stronger surveillance systems, improved laboratory capacity, risk communication, environmental health interventions, policy implementation and community engagement.
Ango added that the organisation was committed to ending childhood lead poisoning by 2040 in collaboration with other stakeholders.

Also speaking, Yunus Adegoke, a Director in the Federal Ministry of Environment and national contact person for the Inter-Agency Working Group on Lead Poisoning Elimination in Nigeria, said the country needed to confront lead exposure across all sectors of the economy.
Adegoke said the government was working with partners to develop a strategic framework addressing lead exposure associated with mining, industrial activities and consumer products.
He said sustained collaboration among government institutions, regulatory bodies and other stakeholders was essential to eliminating lead poisoning in Nigeria.
Similarly, the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security emphasised responsible agrochemical management and phytosanitary compliance to prevent contamination of soil, crops and food.
The ministry said stronger agricultural safety practices were necessary to protect the environment and public health.

The Principal Adviser at Resolve to Save Lives, Mrs Okeoma Obasi, said prevention remained the most effective and cost-effective approach to protecting children from lead poisoning.
She said the organisation’s collaboration with government agencies and other partners had supported efforts to strengthen surveillance systems, build laboratory testing capacity, generate evidence on lead exposure sources, advance policy development and promote public awareness.
Obasi reaffirmed the organisation’s commitment to working with the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, the Ministry of Environment, regulatory agencies, academic institutions, civil society organisations and development partners to accelerate efforts towards a lead-free Nigeria.
As part of preventive measures, the Federal Government urged Nigerians to guard against exposure from lead-based paints, contaminated soil, unsafe water pipes, lead-glazed pottery, toys, cosmetics, traditional eye cosmetics such as tiro and certain traditional remedies.
Workers involved in construction, painting, battery recycling and other activities that may expose them to lead were advised to use appropriate protective clothing and avoid bringing contaminated work clothes and footwear into their homes.
The government also recommended regular handwashing, washing children’s toys and wet-cleaning floors and play areas instead of dry sweeping, which can spread contaminated dust.
Parents and caregivers were urged to keep children and pregnant women away from battery recycling facilities, painting sites and other locations where lead may be released into the environment.