• Screening of 2,175 children finds one in four kids had elevated blood lead levels
• Sindh Food Authority official says over 90pc of turmeric samples contained lead chromate
• PSQCA will introduce national standard for lead in surma, moot told
KARACHI: Millions of children in Pakistan remain vulnerable to lead poisoning, warned speakers at a workshop held on Monday, describing it as a silent public health problem because most affected children show no obvious symptoms despite suffering irreversible neurological damage.
The call came at a day-long media workshop organised by the Lead Exposure Elimination Project (LEEP) in collaboration with Unicef Pakistan and Commsman Consultants at the Karachi Press Club.
At the workshop, researchers, policymakers and regulators shared the latest evidence on childhood lead exposure, major sources of contamination and measures needed to reduce exposure across Pakistan.
Highlighting the sources of lead exposure, Prof Dr Zafar Fatmi of Aga Khan University said that there was no safe level of lead exposure and children were commonly exposed through deteriorating lead paint, lead-adulterated spices, traditional cosmetics such as surma and informal lead-acid battery recycling.
“Since the damage often remains unnoticed until it becomes permanent, prevention should remain the primary focus,” he said.
Dr Humaira Irshad, health specialist at Unicef Pakistan, presented findings from the Pakistan Childhood Lead Exposure Survey, which screened 2,175 children, aged one to three years, in seven high-risk cities.
She said around one in four children had elevated blood lead levels, while Karachi recorded one of the highest prevalence rates, with nearly 39 percent of children in surveyed high-risk communities having elevated blood lead levels.
She clarified that the survey covered selected high-risk urban communities and was not nationally representative, underscoring the need for a nationwide survey to determine the true burden of childhood lead exposure in Pakistan.
Country Head of LEEP Abid Hasan said the findings highlighted the need for a nationally representative blood lead level and source identification survey to determine the true extent of lead exposure across Pakistan and formulate a comprehensive multisectoral national action plan.
“International development partners are willing to support such a survey, which will help guide coordinated action by the health, environment, industry and food safety sectors,” he observed.
Highlighting LEEP’s work, he said it was currently working to eliminate lead exposure from three priority sources: decorative paints, traditional eyeliners (surma/kohl) and lead-adulterated turmeric.
Pakistan, he pointed out, had already introduced a mandatory limit of 90 parts per million (ppm) for lead in decorative paints and a maximum limit of 5 ppm for turmeric, while the Pakistan Standards and Quality Control Authority (PSQCA) was working towards introducing a national standard for lead in surma. Mr Hasan said collaboration between government agencies and development partners had already produced encouraging results, with regulatory efforts reducing lead in decorative paints and sustained campaigns by the Sindh Food Authority significantly lowering the sale of lead-adulterated turmeric.
Sindh Environmental Protection Agency (Sepa) Regional Director Imran Sabir said the agency was taking action against illegal lead-acid battery recycling units and other polluting activities, but operators frequently shifted their operations after enforcement action. He sought the media’s support in identifying environmentally hazardous activities and creating public awareness.
Sindh Food Authority’s Dr Ahmed Ali Shaikh said the authority had intensified market inspections, laboratory testing and awareness campaigns to curb food adulteration.
Referring to its campaign against lead chromate in turmeric, he said that when inspections began, more than 90 per cent of turmeric samples contained lead chromate. “Continuous enforcement, trader engagement and awareness campaigns have reduced contamination to around five percent, demonstrating that sustained government action could significantly reduce public exposure to hazardous consumer products,” he told the audience.
Published in Dawn, July 21st, 2026