Africa Newsroom, Monrovia — In Liberia, a lack of diagnostic facilities and enforceable regulations leaves children vulnerable to lead poisoning, a silent health crisis. With no equipment to analyze blood samples for lead levels, doctors often cannot determine if learning difficulties or seizures are due to lead poisoning. Despite regulations to restrict lead in paint being signed over a year ago, the lack of a law to prevent exposure means many cases may go undiagnosed, as Patience Dono Franklin, a pediatrician at the John F. Kennedy Medical Center, explains.
The World Health Organization has warned that no level of lead exposure is safe for children, as even small amounts can cause irreversible neurological damage, cardiovascular disease, and brain injury. In 2021, more than 1.5 million deaths were attributed to lead exposure, with 2023 estimates placing lead as the eighth largest cause of death globally.
Liberia’s Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), supported by the Lead Exposure Elimination Project (LEEP), confirmed dangerous levels of lead in both imported and locally manufactured paints. Despite stakeholder consultations and a technical working group formed in 2021, Liberia lacks the equipment to test for lead, making the true burden of lead exposure unknown.
The Ministry of Health has not published reports on lead’s impact on child health, hindering clinical care. Franklin emphasizes that without blood tests, it’s difficult to confirm lead poisoning, which shares symptoms with many other conditions. Pregnant women are also at risk, with lead stored in their bones potentially released during pregnancy, affecting the developing fetus.
In January 2025, the EPA and the National Public Health Institute of Liberia signed Lead Paint Regulations to align with ECOWAS standards, capping lead content in paints at 90 parts per million. However, the regulations have not been published in the official gazette, leaving them unenforceable.
EPA officials are working to procure lead — testing equipment, aiming to have in-house testing capacity within the next two quarters. Until then, the risk to children remains, with lead exposure coming from various sources, including paint, gasoline, plumbing, and cosmetics.
Franklin advocates for public awareness campaigns to help mothers and caregivers reduce exposure risks. Until testing equipment arrives and regulations are enforced, the true toll on Liberia’s children will remain largely invisible.
Source: allafrica
