Description
Introduction –
Approximately 800 million children globally are facing lead toxicity with over 5 µg/dl in blood. This is about one-half of all children in India. Children are mainly susceptible to lead poisoning because they absorb 4-5 times more lead than adults. This is attributed to various health problems, including impaired cognitive development, anaemia, neurological disorders with long-term consequences on their health and educational outcomes.
The country has undertaken measures to combat lead poisoning, however challenges persist in achieving comprehensive coverage and ensuring effective on-ground implementation.
Methodology:
IPE Global’s USAID-funded SAMVEG project is demonstrating an innovative “WILL - Win against Industrial Lead and Lead Toxicity” model in Jharkhand, India a state having high average blood lead levels due to heavy industrial establishments and coal mining.
The Model encompasses a series of strategic initiatives:
• A strategic partnership has been forged with National Referral Centre for lead poisoning in India (NRCLPI) to advocate for inclusion of lead toxicity on health agenda in vulnerable geographies
• A State Taskforce Group (STF) is formed with representatives from different government departments, private sector bodies for review, and formulation of roadmap for priority actions.
• A State Resource Centre (SRC) is set-up at medical college RIMS, Ranchi for developing social and behaviour change (SBCC) messages, training programs, and establishing laboratories for soil, water testing and population-based screening.
• Formation of a District Task Force (DTF) is being done to identify pockets of lead contamination, monitor and coordinate field actions.
Results and Discussions:
This convergent action model will help bringing lead toxicity on the health agenda by estimating true burden, identifying risk factors and facilitate implementation of strategic evidence-based interventions to reduce lead exposure. The development of contextualized SBCC messages aid in improving community awareness and health seeking behaviours. The creation of SRC will strengthen lead testing infrastructure, and formation of DTF will aid in identifying high risk pockets, facilitate rigorous monitoring and coordinating actions to address lead toxicity in vulnerable geographies.
Conclusion:
The demonstration of WILL model is a critical step towards addressing increased burden of lead toxicity and generating evidence for its successful scale-up across vulnerable geographies of the country.
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