Photo: Ruth Mulenga/World Bank
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
More than 10,000 children have been tested for lead exposure this year through a pilot health intervention as part of a $65 million project
Medical interventions are bolstered by reducing environmental risks through remediation efforts to decontaminate schools, homes, and soil
Mine owners are being engaged on their corporate and social responsibilities to properly close inactive mines and control emissions
KABWE, December 17, 2020 Like many three-year-olds, Prominence Muziya likes to play in the dirt. But in Kabwe, the soil can be deadly. His mother noticed that Prominence was getting skin rashes, his appetite was poor, and he had a persistent cough. But until Prominence was tested for lead exposure, it did not occur to his parents that playing in the contaminated soil was sickening their son.