NEW DELHI: The World Health Organisation (WHO) on Thursday called on countries to accelerate action to prevent lead exposure, a widespread but preventable health threat estimated to contribute to more than 3.5 million deaths globally each year and affect hundreds of millions of children.
The call, marking International Lead Poisoning Prevention Week 2026, comes amid growing political momentum to tackle lead poisoning globally.
The WHO Member States have recognised lead exposure as a pressing public health concern and mandated the WHO to develop a Global Action Plan on Lead Mitigation, which will be presented to the World Health Assembly in 2027.
Lead is particularly dangerous for children because their developing brains and nervous systems are highly vulnerable to its toxic effects.
Exposure can occur through paint, cookware, cosmetics, spices, informal recycling and industrial contamination, among other sources. There is no known safe level of lead exposure, and even relatively low exposure can cause irreversible harm.
The WHO will also launch the PREVENT Technical Package on Lead Poisoning Prevention in 2027, providing countries with practical guidance to identify priority sources of exposure, determine which interventions can have the greatest impact, strengthen and enforce regulations, and track progress.
The WHO is leading this work with governments and global partners to help countries translate evidence into action and prevent avoidable illnesses and deaths.
“Lead poisoning should not be stealing children's potential in 2026,” said Bruce Gordon, Director a.i. of the WHO’s Department of Environment, Climate Change, One Health and Migration.
“We know where many exposures come from and we know how to prevent them. Countries now need to move upstream, removing lead from products and environments before it reaches a child's bloodstream. WHO is working with governments and partners to help turn that evidence into action.”
The WHO provides global leadership, working with governments and international partners to turn evidence into action and protect people from preventable illness and death.
Last year, the WHO joined partners in the Lead Poisoning Prevention Initiative to build and enhance laboratory capacity to conduct blood lead level testing to enable effective monitoring and early detection of lead exposure.
It said that laboratory capacity building and technical support would be implemented in programme locations, including Brazil; five states in India; Nepal; and six countries in sub-Saharan Africa: Ethiopia, Ghana, Malawi, Rwanda, South Africa, and the United Republic of Tanzania.
This year's International Lead Poisoning Prevention Week theme, “From Detection to Prevention,” underscores the urgent need for stronger policies, better enforcement of safety standards and increased public awareness to eliminate lead hazards at their source.
Despite decades of progress, fewer than half of countries had confirmed legally binding controls on lead paint in the WHO's latest published global assessment, it said.
Lead poisoning is entirely preventable, yet millions of children around the world remain at risk.
Lead exposure affects multiple organs and contributes to ill health, including cardiovascular and kidney disease in adults and irreversible harm to children's brains, health and development.
Even low levels of exposure can have lifelong consequences, including impacts on learning, behaviour and overall health. Because symptoms may not be immediately visible, many cases go undetected until significant harm has already occurred.
International Lead Poisoning Prevention Week 2026 provides an opportunity for governments, industry, civil society, health professionals and communities to strengthen efforts to eliminate lead hazards from products and environments; strengthen regulations and enforcement mechanisms; improve monitoring and surveillance of lead exposure risks; strengthen capacity to manage poisoning cases; raise public awareness about sources of exposure and prevention measures; support safer industrial practices and waste management systems; and prioritise the protection of children and other vulnerable populations.
Preventing lead exposure also delivers broader social and economic benefits, reducing health-care costs, improving educational outcomes and contributing to healthier, more productive societies.
As countries work towards healthier and more sustainable futures, stakeholders are encouraged to move beyond detection and embrace comprehensive prevention strategies that address the root causes of lead exposure, the WHO said.
