31-07-2025
'We dey fall sick from lead poisoning evri time but we no fit do anytin about am'
Residents for three regions for Ghana wia environmental NGO Pure Earth bin find through dia research say lead poison don plenty, say dem no fit do anytin about am.
Di research bin find say over 53% of children for dis places dey suffer from di lead poison from illegal lead-battery recycling sites, waste processing, informal recycling of lead and even among cookware.
Sukaina Sulemana na mother of three wey dey stay for Ashaiman, one of di most poisonous areas for di kontri.
She tell BBC Pidgin say even though she sabi say di air for di area na poison, she no get any choice.
"Dis place no dey safe for us and our children. Dis place don dirty well well, wey di atmosphere no good," Sukaina explain.
Many residents for here and oda communities for Kpone Katamanso and Afienya, according to di Pure Earth research, get plenti lead inside dia blood.
"We bin dey sick from dis polluted air. For me I sabi well well say di air for here no good for human being…but I neva get any oda place to go," she add.
Di environmental NGO bin collaborate wit di Ghana Health Service, and Unicef also don find say out of di 16 regions for Ghana, na three of dem get di plenty lead poison.
"Di Greater Accra, Northern and Ashanti regions all get di highest number of children wey get lead poison inside dia blood and out of evri two children, one of dem get lead poison," oga for Pure Earth Dr Esmond Quansah explain to BBC Pidgin.
For Zakari Iddrisu and im friends wey dey stay for dis toxic area working for di scrap and informal recycling for 10 years, na dia only source of livelihood be dat.
"If you don dey work wit di dirty oil, lead-acid batteries and oda metals, e dey cause skin disease, sake of e don dey touch our skin always."
Zakaria say dem dey spend di money from di recycling to pay hospital bills.
For di world, approximately one child out of three - up to 800 million, get high levels of lead about 5 microgrammes per decilitre inside dia bodi.
For 2021, lead exposure bin kill more dan 1.5 million pipo for di world, according to di world health organization (WHO) – na figure wey don plenti pass pipo wey dey die from HIV and malaria combined.
For lower - to middle-income kontris for Africa, ova 55 million children get blood lead level wey dey above 10 micrograms per decilitre (µg/dL), na two times di level wey WHO tok say e dey dangerous.
Wetin lead poison dey cause for human bodi?
Sabi pesin - public health advocate Dr Michael Baah Biney explain say lead poison dey dangerous especially among children.
"Although e dey affect evribodi, na children e dey affect most, especially dose wey dey below six years," Dr Biney tok.
Im add say "e don dey affect children sake of lead dey affect dia nervous system wey bin dey develop. E dey affect di intelligence of di child."
"Even if di woman no dey pregnant at di time she bin dey exposed to di lead, e go stay inside di woman and begin to affect her wen she don carry belle, wey she fit transfer am into her baby for belle," Dr Baah Biney explain.
Authorities for di kontri say dem go soon approve one medicine to treat lead poison – but how soon dis go happun?
Pure Earth kontri director Dr Esmond Quansah tok BBC Pidgin say "our partners, Unicef don dey work wit di Ghana health service and di ministry of health to approve drugs wey fit treat conditions of lead and mercury poisoning and odas. Dis na ogbonge win for us!"
