omeke Joseph Chigozi

Healing by blade

[Federal Ministry of Health, NIGERIA @Fmohnigeria]

Media Brief
FG STRENGTHENS NATIONAL ACTION TO ELIMINATE CHILDHOOD LEAD EXPOSURE BY 2040
Abuja, Nigeria | 14 September 2026

The Federal Government has commenced steps to strengthen and coordinate Nigeria’s response to childhood lead exposure, in line with the global resolve to eliminate it by 2040, with the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare set to establish a technical working group and conduct a national survey to generate more reliable exposure data.

The Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, Daju Kachollom S. mni, announced the measures while receiving a delegation from the Partnership for a Lead-Free Future, led by Mr. Abdullah Fadill, at the Ministry in Abuja.  The Partnership is an alliance comprising UNICEF, the World Health Organization (WHO), the Clinton Health Access Initiative (CHAI), Resolve to Save Lives, the World Bank and other international organisations and partners working to address lead exposure.

Daju said Nigeria’s commitment to the 2040 goal must be a national effort, requiring coordinated action across government, development partners and other stakeholders to protect children’s health and safeguard Nigeria’s human capital. “With lead exposure elimination, protecting Nigeria’s human capital opportunity is key. The outcome outweighs anything else,” she said.

She noted that the health sector has, in recent years, moved from working in silos towards a more coordinated approach through the Sector-Wide Approach (SWAp), with the 2023 Health Compact, signed by all 36 states and subsequently expanded to include development partners and other stakeholders, providing a platform to extend that coordination to the lead exposure response.

The Permanent Secretary assured the delegation that the Ministry would move swiftly to constitute a technical team and develop its Terms of Reference. She further disclosed that in the coming months, the Ministry would conduct a standardised national survey on childhood lead exposure to establish the burden and generate evidence to guide interventions.

Earlier, the delegation highlighted the significant public health and developmental burden of lead exposure in Nigeria and globally citing WHO-highlighted estimates that some 80 million children in Nigeria are exposed to lead, with children aged 9 to 59 months particularly vulnerable to its effects on cognitive development and long-term health, even at low levels of exposure.

Mr. Fadill noted that lead exposure is associated with substantial mortality globally and can affect learning, nutrition, anaemia, mental health and vital organs. In children, he said, lead exposure can lower IQ by an estimated three to seven points, with significant economic consequences globally.

He commended the Federal Government’s sustained efforts over the years to address lead exposure, as well as the Ministry’s adoption of a Sector-Wide Approach to strengthen coordination across the health sector. He expressed optimism that the principles of the SWAp would further strengthen Nigeria’s response to lead exposure by bringing relevant sectors and stakeholders together around a common national goal.
Mr. Fadill called for the Ministry to convene relevant Ministries, Departments and Agencies and establish a Technical Working Committee, assuring that the Partnership would continue to mobilise the support and resources required to advance Nigeria’s efforts towards the global 2040 elimination goal.

The Permanent Secretary commended the Partnership for a Lead-Free Future for its continued support and reaffirmed the Ministry’s commitment to working with all relevant stakeholders to protect Nigerian children from the lifelong consequences of lead exposure, in line with the Renewed Hope Agenda’s focus on protecting the health and future of Nigerians.

[omeke Joseph Chigozi @Goziejossy]

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[omeke Joseph Chigozi @Goziejossy]

In this our restaurant business,the supplier of the raw food steals from source,the cook steals directly from the pot, seller steals from the display stand, the restaurant manager steals from the revenue, the owners of the business loose out. That's how it plays out here. OIL SHA

[omeke Joseph Chigozi @Goziejossy]

A country can gradually become a crime scene if the citizens continue to ignore evil. May Nigeria not become one someday.

[omeke Joseph Chigozi @Goziejossy]

@renoomokri When they refuse to remember, we remind them.
Selective amnesia is not allowed.

[omeke Joseph Chigozi @Goziejossy]

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[omeke Joseph Chigozi @Goziejossy]

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[omeke Joseph Chigozi @Goziejossy]

It takes just a strategic piece to solve a puzzle. Until that move is done, we keep trying.