Half of children in poorer countries have lead poisoning, says study

Health crisis has been ‘neglected’, particularly in low-income countries, and it’s killing three times more people than lung cancer

Urgent action is needed to address the “staggering harm” caused by lead poisoning, mostly in low-income countries where more than half of children are exposed to dangerous levels of the pollutant.

A year-long project, led by Washington-based thinktank the Center for Global Development (CGD), has concluded that lead poisoning constitutes a global health crisis that has been “extraordinarily neglected” by donors and political leaders.