The youth of Bangladesh on Saturday demanded a ban on lead-based paint production in the country to curb lead poisoning, particularly among young children who are most vulnerable to the menace.
They came up with the demand at a human chain formed in front of the National Press Club in Dhaka, marking the International Lead Poisoning Prevention Week (ILPPW) 2022, a press release said.
Around 120 volunteers from the Girl Guides and different universities joined the cause and chanted the slogan ‘Say No to Lead Poisoning’, also the theme of this year’s ILPPW.
Environment and Social Development Organization (ESDO) in collaboration with DGHS, icddr'b, IEDCR, UNICEF, and Pure Earth organised the human chain programme with a view to pressing home their demand to enforce a ban on all lead-based paint in the country and for the proper implementation of the existing law.
The youngsters at the human chain also chanted slogans — "We want to grow up in a toxic-free environment", "We don't want to live in a setting that is contaminated by harmful heavy metals like lead", and "To make Bangladesh lead-free, everyone should be aware of it and take appropriate action".
Later, they paraded city streets to raise public awareness of the issue.
The International Lead Poisoning Prevention Week of Action, co-led by the World Health Organization (WHO) and UN Environment Programme (UNEP), was established to raise awareness of the widespread availability of lead paint.
Every year, the last week of October is observed as ILPPW.
According to WHO, children are more likely to be exposed to lead through the ingestion of dust and flakes from decaying lead-based paint, which affects their brain development and intelligence. According to the estimates, lead exposure in youngsters causes 6,00,000 new cases of intellectual disability each year.
