Nigeria Strengthens National Action to Eliminate Childhood Lead Exposure by 2040

ABUJA, Nigeria — September 14, 2026: The Federal Government is taking steps to strengthen and coordinate Nigeria’s response to childhood lead exposure, with the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare planning to establish a technical working group and conduct a standardised national survey to better determine the burden of exposure across the country.

The measures were announced by the Permanent Secretary of the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, Daju Kachollom S. mni, during a meeting with a delegation from the Partnership for a Lead-Free Future, led by Mr Abdullah Fadill, in Abuja.

The proposed actions form part of efforts towards the global goal of eliminating childhood lead poisoning by 2040.

The Partnership for a Lead-Free Future is a global alliance involving governments, international organisations and other partners working to accelerate action against childhood lead exposure.

Kachollom said achieving the 2040 goal would require coordinated action across government, development partners and other stakeholders, particularly given the long-term consequences of lead exposure for children and the country's human capital.

“With lead exposure elimination, protecting Nigeria’s human capital opportunity is key. The outcome outweighs anything else,” she said.

Ministry plans technical working group and national survey

The Permanent Secretary said the Ministry would move swiftly to constitute a technical team and develop its Terms of Reference.

She also disclosed that the Ministry plans to conduct a standardised national survey on childhood lead exposure in the coming months.

The survey is expected to generate more reliable evidence on the extent of lead exposure in Nigeria and provide information to guide interventions.

The move could strengthen national planning by providing a broader evidence base for identifying affected populations and informing measures to reduce exposure.

Coordinating Nigeria’s response

Kachollom said Nigeria’s health sector had increasingly moved away from working in silos towards a more coordinated approach through the Sector-Wide Approach (SWAp).

She cited the 2023 Health Compact, signed by all 36 states and subsequently expanded to include development partners and other stakeholders, as a platform that could support broader coordination on childhood lead exposure.

The Permanent Secretary suggested that the same principles could be applied to the lead-exposure response by bringing relevant government institutions and partners together around a common national objective.

Fadill similarly called on the Ministry to convene relevant Ministries, Departments and Agencies and establish a Technical Working Committee to coordinate efforts towards the 2040 goal.

He said the Partnership for a Lead-Free Future would continue to mobilise technical support and resources to support Nigeria’s efforts.

Lead exposure poses long-term risks to children

During the meeting, the Partnership highlighted the public health and developmental consequences of lead exposure in Nigeria and globally.

It cited estimates that about 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.

Lead exposure is a major global public health concern. The World Health Organization (WHO) states that lead exposure was responsible for approximately 1.5 million deaths globally in 2021, primarily through cardiovascular effects. WHO also identifies neurological and behavioural effects as important consequences of lead exposure, particularly in children.

Children are particularly vulnerable because their developing nervous systems can be affected by lead. Exposure can impair cognitive and neurological development and has been associated with learning and behavioural difficulties.

The Partnership also highlighted the broader effects associated with lead exposure, including impacts on learning, nutrition, anaemia, mental health and vital organs.

Why better national data matters

The planned national survey could become an important component of Nigeria’s lead-exposure response because effective public health action requires reliable information about the scale and distribution of exposure.

Nigeria has already undertaken targeted efforts to generate evidence on lead exposure. AFENET, for example, has reported work assessing blood lead levels and children's environmental health in Lagos State.

A standardised national assessment could complement such state-level evidence by providing a broader picture of childhood lead exposure across the country.

The resulting evidence could help government and partners identify priority populations and locations, assess the scale of the problem and better direct prevention and control measures.

Moving towards the 2040 goal

The Partnership for a Lead-Free Future has set a global goal of ending childhood lead poisoning by 2040, with country-led action forming a central part of the strategy.

For Nigeria, achieving that ambition will require sustained coordination across sectors because exposure can arise from multiple environmental and occupational sources.

The establishment of a technical working group and the proposed national survey therefore represent early steps towards building a more coordinated national response.

The Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare reaffirmed its commitment to working with relevant stakeholders to protect Nigerian children from the lifelong consequences of lead exposure and advance efforts towards the 2040 elimination goal.

The effectiveness of the next phase will depend on how quickly the proposed technical structure is established, the quality and coverage of the national survey, and how its findings are translated into sustained, evidence-based interventions.