An international organisation,
Medicines Sans Frontiers (MSF) has said that 100 children have again been
affected by lead poisoning complications in Anka and Bukkuyum LGAs in Zamfara
in the last three months.
The MSF Project Manager, Malam
Zakariya Mawattia, revealed this in Anka on Wednesday at a stakeholders’
meeting.
He said that the rate at which fresh
cases were recorded was alarming in spite of the concerted efforts of the
MSF, government and other organisations to control lead poisoning affliction
among children.
“Between December 2012 and March 2013,
we recorded an average of thirty to forty fresh cases of complicated lead
poisoning in children from Bagega and six other affected mining communities
every month.
“This has become a source of serious
concern to us and other organisations that are involved in the control of lead
poisoning effect on children.
“What is giving us more concern is the
fact that the officials of the federal and state ministries of health have not
demonstrated sufficient commitments to partner with us in the intervention so
that by the time MSF winds up, the state health personnel can take over.
“As it is, MSF is afraid that when it
finally disengages from the country, there is nobody on ground to manage the
lead poisoning disease,“ he said.
According to him, MSF is ready to
offer technical services and expertise to government officials so that they can
handle cases of lead poisoning.
The Zamfara Commissioner for
Environment and Solid Minerals Development, Alhaji Mukhtar Lugga, while
speaking, expressed the readiness of government to partner with the MSF.
He commended MSF and other
organisations for their support and assistance toward controlling the impact of
lead poisoning in the state.
He said that the federal and state
governments had embarked on the remediation of the village and were determined
to complete it before the commencement of the rainy season.
He said that the action was a response
to the MSF’s conditions for setting its lead poisoning clinic in Bagega. (NAN)
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