Why Ending Childhood Lead Poisoning is a Top-Tier Global Development Challenge

Purpose: This paper presents findings from the Working Group on Understanding and Mitigating the Global Burden of Lead Poisoning. Originality: Lead exposure represents a rare opportunity in global development: a highly tractable problem with enormous welfare implications that remains largely neglected. Methodology: The analysis of recent research and expert consultations used to find out the effect of lead poisoning. Result: The paper demonstrates that lead poisoning affects one-third of children globally, accounts for over 20% of the learning gap between high and low-income countries, and causes between 1.6 and 5.5 million deaths annually―surpassing the mortality burden of HIV/AIDS and malaria combined. Despite an estimated economic impact of US$5 trillion annually (6.9% of global GDP), authors also identifies only $11 million in annual philanthropic funding addressing this issue. Conclusions and Implication: Based on comprehensive analysis of intervention costs and effectiveness, this paper proposes that a $350 million program of international investment over seven years could significantly reduce lead exposure through targeted interventions in paint, spices, and battery recycling, while building momentum toward eliminating childhood lead poisoning by 2040. The paper concludes that with modest financial commitments and increased political recognition, the elimination of childhood lead poisoning represents an achievable goal with extraordinary returns for global development.