Partnership for a lead-free future

Children and pregnant women – some of the most vulnerable members of society –are those most at risk from lead poisoning.

The Partnership for a Lead-Free Future (PLF) has a vision for a world where all children grow up free from lead exposure. This is essential because lead poisoning effects are devastating and can be permanent. Preventing the next generation from suffering its lifelong effects is the best solution. Lead can be found throughout the environment in which children live – in the air they breathe, the water they drink, the soil they walk and crawl on, the food they eat and even in some of the toys they play with.

Young children absorb 4–5 times as much lead from the gut than adults (apart from pregnant women). Even small amounts of lead exposure endanger the health of children and have the potential to severely affect brain development. The damage is difficult to spot and impossible to reverse, with effects including lower IQ, attention deficits, poor academic performance and has been linked to violent behaviour later in life. Older children and adults also suffer severe consequences from prolonged exposure to lead in food, water and the air they breathe, including increased risk of cardiovascular death and kidney damage in later life.

The good news is that lead is a tractable problem, as demonstrated by the Partnership for Clean Fuels and Vehicles launched in the 2000s, which eliminated lead from gasoline globally. Efforts have phased out lead in many consumer products in most high-income countries through regulations transitioning industries to cost-comparable, lead-free alternatives. The Partnership for a Lead-Free Future aims to unite governments, organizations and stakeholders in a concerted effort to end childhood lead poisoning.