New Delhi, Aug 27 (IANS): World Health Organisation's former Chief Scientist Soumya Swaminathan on Tuesday called for a multisectoral approach to combat lead poisoning in India.
Lead poisoning in India remains an under-reported and underfunded public health issue posing a significant threat to the population and environment. According to a 2020 report by UNICEF, half of India’s children are reported to have elevated blood lead levels.
It indicates that as many as 275 million children surpass the WHO threshold for intervention set at 5 micrograms per deciliter for blood lead levels, with 64.3 million of them exceeding 10 micrograms per decilitre. Lead exposure led to an average loss of 6.7 IQ points per child in 2019, leading to a loss of $ 93 million in GDP for the country. It also caused the death of over 10 lakh adults from cardiovascular issues according to a report published in the Lancet in 2023.
"About 80 per cent of our health depends on factors outside health sectors, like housing, air, sanitation., etc,” said Swaminathan, currently the Principal Advisor for the Health Ministry’s tuberculosis programme.
"That means it will take a whole systems approach to deal with a health issue like lead poisoning. It is not up to the Health Ministry alone, but will need a multisectoral approach," she added.
Swaminathan was speaking at a panel discussion on lead poisoning at an event, organised by the think tank Pahle India Foundation, in New Delhi. Dr Indu Bhushan, Chair of the India Working Group on Lead Poisoning at the Foundation said lead exposure is largely overlooked in India. Citing a recent survey in Jharkhand, he said even a large majority of doctors and health workers are not aware of the issue of lead poisoning. He called for "a plan that will set us on the path to eradicating lead poisoning in India".
The panellists also launched several research reports that seek to highlight the areas where Indian legal structures can be strengthened and to provide a clear path forward for policymakers and stakeholders dedicated to eradicating lead poisoning in the country.