WHO: lead contributes to over 3.5 million deaths a year worldwide

The World Health Organization has raised an alarm about lead poisoning on the eve of the International Week dedicated to its prevention. According to the organization’s statement, this form of poisoning contributes to over 3.5 million deaths every year worldwide and undermines the health and development of hundreds of millions of children. The news currently comes from a single source, the WHO statement picked up by several Italian outlets; there are no independent confirmations of the figures cited.

The organization’s document notes that less than half of countries have confirmed the existence of legally binding regulations on lead-containing paints, despite the known risk linked to domestic and occupational exposure to this material. More than three quarters of global lead consumption, according to the WHO, is now dedicated to the production of batteries for motor vehicles, a sector that remains among the main channels for the substance’s spread in the environment.

The health effects described by the organization differ by age group: in adults, lead exposure can promote cardiovascular and kidney diseases, while in children it can cause irreversible neurological damage that compromises learning and growth. It is on this second point that the WHO focuses its most direct alarm, given the scale of the child population exposed according to the organization’s estimates.

Bruce Gordon, interim director of one of the WHO’s departments, commented on the data with a direct statement:

“In 2026, lead poisoning should still not be stealing potential from children” — Bruce Gordon, WHO

The organization’s statement links the publication of the data to the start of International Lead Poisoning Prevention Week, in an attempt to push more countries to adopt binding regulations on paints and materials that still contain the substance today.