Health Experts Issue Stern Warning About Unaddressed Lead Contamination, Poisoning In Ethiopia

Lack of public awareness, weak standard enforcement cited as major obstacles

Ethiopia’s environmental and health experts have issued their strongest public warning yet over worsening lead exposure, acknowledging that major contamination hotspots remain unidentified, enforcement of existing standards is weak, and the country lacks even the basic laboratory capacity to test children for blood lead levels.

The unsettling warning came during this year’s national Lead-Free Day commemoration held at Addis Ababa Adwa Victory memorial hall, only the second such observance in the country’s history, underscoring the depth of the problem and the slow pace of national awareness.

During last year’s event, health experts noted that one out of every three children are exposed to lead poisoning in Ethiopia, as paint products, piping systems, cosmetics and unregulated recycling pose serious but unnoticed threats to brain development in children and fetal health in pregnant women.

At the discussion held on Thursday, November 13, 2025 senior officials from the Environmental Protection Authority (EPA), the Ministry of Health, regional health bureaus, and global partners including Pure Earth and Bloomberg Philanthropies painted a similarly stark picture.

Experts cautioned that Ethiopia is currently grappling with rising exposure to lead with far-reaching consequences for cardiovascular disease, childhood development, and mortality.

“It is high time to identify major lead contamination hotspots,” said Alemayehu Addis, (Prof.), warning that hazardous waste continues to spread across urban and industrial corridors, particularly in the west. “Beautification and greenery are underway, but on the other side huge hazardous-waste pollution continues, and removing these hotspots cannot be delayed.”

Despite having national limits for lead in drinking water and paint, experts note that Ethiopia’s enforcement remains inconsistent and deeply undermined by regulatory gaps.

The Ethiopian Standards Agency and Ministry of Trade and Regional Integration have established clear limits, including the internationally accepted 90 ppm lead limit in paint and WHO-aligned drinking water standards. Yet environmental specialists stress that enforcement is far from adequate.

“We have standards. Some are legally binding, others are guidelines,” one expert said. “But rigid regulation, weak enforcement, and policy gaps undermine implementation. Integration is key here.”

According to panelists at Thursday’s discussion, household sources of exposure, including electronic waste discarded in homes and high-lead paint, continue to pose risks in everyday environments.

“People think they can easily dispose of electronic waste at home. But it can be contaminated with lead,” an expert explained. “Paint that can be washed with water is also a major source. Ethiopia issued the regulation because paint with high lead content is still in circulation.”

Experts stressed that without strict monitoring and market inspections, lead-contaminated products will continue entering homes, schools and workplaces.

Participants also revealed that Ethiopia currently lacks sufficient laboratories to test blood lead levels in children, the population most vulnerable to permanent brain damage from lead poisoning.

One expert described the diagnostic gap as one of the country’s most urgent health-system weaknesses.

“One of our biggest gaps is the absence of laboratories that can regularly test children or anyone for lead levels,” he said, calling for immediate investment in testing infrastructure.

Without reliable testing, experts caution that nationwide exposure remains largely invisible.

They also highlighted that Ethiopia lacks systematic surveillance of occupational exposure. Factory workers, mechanics, battery handlers and waste recyclers often operate with no protective equipment or health screening.

One of the strongest warnings came regarding informal battery recycling, described as a major and largely hidden cause of lead poisoning in Ethiopian communities.

Experts detailed how unlicensed recyclers melt down battery components, often in residential neighborhoods, releasing toxic fumes and dumping contaminated waste.

“Informal battery recycling is one of the biggest sources of exposure,” an expert said. “These operators melt lead in uncontrolled environments. Because it is informal, the contamination spreads into the community, and the soil cannot be cleaned.”

A representative from EPA warned that recycled batteries contribute to contamination when handled by unregistered scrap collectors, mechanics or informal workshops.

Lead contamination is not confined to household paint, batteries or waste streams. Officials highlighted that water scarcity, occupational hazards, chemical exposure and environmental degradation all intersect with the country’s health burden.

“Water-borne and water-related diseases reflect energy and environmental pressures,” one expert said. “If workplaces have chemical, physical or psychosocial hazards, the health burden ultimately falls on health facilities.”

The discussion highlighted that Ethiopia is far behind in its efforts to contain lead poisoning and contamination, with participants citing progress in other countries as examples to follow.  Among them is Mexico, which enforced strict recycling rules that reduced emissions by 30 percent, and the Philippines, where integrating lead surveillance with its broader health system has led to measurable success in tracking and identifying exposure.

Health experts repeatedly stressed the global scale of harm caused by lead exposure, an estimated 900,000 deaths annually and 2.7 million disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) worldwide.

“Lead exposure contributes to cardiovascular disease, heart attacks, stroke, and intellectual disability,” one expert noted. “If we reduce lead exposure, mortality and disability decline significantly.”

Officials emphasized that eliminating exposure does not eradicate all disease, but reduces its severity and long-term disability burden.

Nearly all speakers agreed on one point: primary prevention must begin with children.

“Children are the most vulnerable. We all have the responsibility to protect them by ensuring lead-free products in schools and homes,” a representative said. “Teaching students about lead risks is part of building a clean Ethiopia.”

Scientific evidence shows that primary prevention yields the highest impact, and experts advocate for systematic awareness programs in schools and maternal-child health services.

Against the backdrop of worsening exposure, officials highlighted a national awareness deficit.

“Lead awareness has not been created in our country,” a senior EPA representative acknowledged. “This is only the second Lead Prevention Day ever held in Ethiopia.”

The lack of public knowledge combined with informal recycling, weak market surveillance, and absent testing labs compounds risk for children and adults alike, experts contend.

Ethiopia has now formally entered the Bloomberg Global Lead Prevention Program through a five-year partnership involving the EPA, Ministry of Health, Pure Earth and other stakeholders.

However, officials reiterated that environmental protection cannot be handled by the EPA alone. The Ministry of Health is pushing for joint regulation, testing, and public education. Meanwhile, regional health bureaus call for expansion of laboratory facilities.

EPA on the other hand demands stronger enforcement and identification of contamination hotspots. Private sector actors, especially those in recycling, are encouraged to formalize operations and schools are urged to integrate lead-risk education into curricula.

“This cannot be solved by one institution,” an EPA representative said. “Every sector must comply with standards, support awareness, and help protect the public from toxic exposure.”