Zambia: What Govt Should Do to Clean Up Poisonous Soil, Dust in Kabwe

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Zambia: What Govt Should Do to Clean Up Poisonous Soil, Dust in Kabwe

Interview
By Sethi Ncube

Johannesburg — Thousands of children in Kabwe are developing lead poisoning because of growing up in contaminated neighborhoods due to exposure around a former lead and zinc mine. Twenty-five years after the mine's closure, children living in nearby townships continue to be exposed to high levels of toxic lead in soil and dust in their homes, backyards, schools, play areas, and other public spaces.

Human Rights Watch is urging the Zambian government to promptly clean up the contamination and ensure proper treatment for all who need it. HRW also found that government-run health facilities in Kabwe have no chelation medicine for treating lead poisoning or lead test kits in stock, and no health database has been established to track cases of children who died or were admitted to hospital because of high lead levels. allAfrica's Sethi Ncube spoke to Joanna Naples-Mitchell, children's rights fellow at Human Rights Watch and author of the report.

What measures could be taken to pressure govt to acknowledge full responsibility of the lead contamination caused by Kabwe mining?

Read more at: https://allafrica.com/stories/201908230134.html