Working to eliminate lead paint in Zambia



Lead-safety Message: Lead Safe Zambia by 2020

Artist: Michael Musenga

Description of Work: March 2016 – April 2017, Children’s Environmental Health Foundation (CEHF) conducted a lead paint study in Zambia. The study conclusion was the justification for the Government to establish a strong, legally enforceable regulation to ban the manufacture, distribution, import, export, sale and use of paint containing lead in excess of 90ppm (parts per million) as per the WHO/UN Lead Paint Alliance (GAELP). The Continued advocacy by CEHF has received Government support through the Ministry of Commerce, Trade and Industry who approved the Standard 1185 as Voluntary and Zambia Bureau of Standards (ZABS) has Gazetted the Standard for public notification. The next step is for Zambia to convene a drafting team to draft the law to ban lead paint in order to protect public health. Most paint companies have pledged to manufacture non-leaded paints but they have no law to guide the production. CEHF participation at the 55 Independence Celebration 2019 was to capture the attention of High level decision-makers that included the Southern Province Minister in the office of the President the Honorable Dr Edify Hamukali and the Permanent Secretary Mwangala Liomba and also display our gratitude and thank the Government for adopting 90ppm lead paint standard and for gazetting the standards for public notification. CEHF staff and the children from Highlands Secondary School and Nalituwe Secondary School as well as students from Livingstone School of Nursing who are members of CEHF displayed the banner “Lead Safe Zambia by 2020” at the Independence celebrations grounds in Livingstone. CEHF’s goal is: Working to eliminate lead poisoning in Zambia and to protect the environment from lead exposure in all its uses, past, current and new uses.

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