Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dr. Dele Alake, on Friday pledged Nigeria’s support for the global campaign against lead poisoning to save the lives of vulnerable citizens.

Dr. Alake disclosed this at the exhibition on the lead campaign during the Lead-Free Future event organized by the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) on the sidelines of the ongoing United Nations General Assembly.

The minister announced plans to acquire additional equipment for detecting lead in communities affected by lead poisoning.

Dr. Alake, in a statement by his Special Assistant on Media, Segun Tomori, advocated for more enlightenment on the threat posed to people in the mining of gold and other minerals, stressing that cleaning up lead from communities will restore child and maternal health.

He stressed the need to factor lead reduction into the process of local value addition being championed by the Ministry.

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While receiving the minister at the exhibition, the USAID representative, Dr. Casey Bartrem, appreciated the minister’s commitment, showing rock samples retrieved from Zamfara State in Nigeria during the cleanup that followed a lead poisoning incident.

She said USAID hoped to collaborate with the Ministry of Solid Minerals Development (MSMD) in reducing lead in mineral extraction and processing.