ZAMBIA must put measures in place to ban the manufacturing, selling
and using of paints which contain lead substances to safeguard the
health of children in the country, Children’s Environmental Health
Foundation (CEHF) National Lead Elimination Advisor Michael Musenga
has said.
The International Lead Poisoning Prevention Week of action has been
taking place from October 23 to October 29, 2016 with a particular
focus on eliminating lead paint.
According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), lead is a cumulative
toxicant that affects multiple body systems and is particularly
harmful to young children.
In many countries in the developing world including Zambia, paint that
contain high levels of lead is still being sold for decorating houses
as well as schools and children’s toys.
Mr Musenge said in an interview that there was need for
Zambia to enact an appropriate law that would prohibit the
manufacturing as well as selling and using of paints which contain
lead.
He said paint that contains lead additives posed a risk of lead
poisoning especially to children aged six years and above and hence
the country needed to put measures in place to remove such paint from
the market.
Mr Musenga said that childhood lead poisoning could have long life
health impacts including learning disabilities, anaemia and disorder
in coordinating visual as well as speech and language skills.
He said a research conducted by the University of Zambia (UNZA) School of
Medicine last year also revealed that paint manufactured in Zambia contain
excessive lead thereby creating a risk to public health.
“Therefore working together with the Government and manufacturers in
banning lead in paint will achieve toxic free future by the year 2020.
“We need to act together to protect the present and future generation,”
Mr Musenga said.
He urged the Zambia Bureau of Standards (ZABS) to come up with
standards on paint manufacturing to guide manufacturers and retailers.
Mr Musenga said the Tanzania Bureau of Standards was already planning
to remove from the market all paints with lead substances, as it had
been proved to cause health and mental problems to children and
pregnant women owing to cumulative toxicant.
On Tuesday a team of public health experts and other
officials from CEHF as well as the Livingstone City Council (LCC) and
ZABS conducted an awareness meeting with shop owners in Livingstone’s
217 area on the effects of producing, selling and using paint which
contains lead.
Mr Musenga said most shop owners were very cooperative and that they
would like to see the results taken from the paint samples.
“We so far collected 18 out of 42 samples from Southern and Lusaka
Provinces which we will send to a central and recommended laboratory
in Sweden for examinations,” Mr Musenga said.
That is long overdue i almost died when I came to Zambia and the family I was visiting had just painted the house , on the middle of the night I safocated so I left the and had a sleep in the lounge.
WILL NEVER HAPPEN!!
Too much Corruption pa Zed.
just name the paint we will not buy it
Do not mislead pipo smelling and lead poisoning are two different issues.what i know is govt checks these items and eviromental pipo are mandated by law to enforce the law but if u suspect report these