EPA Participation in the International Lead Poisoning Prevention Week of Action
Lead poisoning is entirely preventable, yet scientific estimates show that lead causes over 1 million deaths globally from long-term effects. Though many countries have taken action, exposure to lead, particularly in childhood, remains of key concern to health care providers and public health officials worldwide. Paints containing high levels of lead are still widely available and used in many countries, although good substitutes without lead are available.
The International Lead Poisoning Prevention Week of Action is an opportunity to mobilize political and social commitment around the globe for further progress and amplifies EPA's U.S.-based National Lead Poisoning Prevention Week, which occurs during the same week.
The 12th annual International Lead Poisoning Prevention Week takes place October 20-26, 2024, with the theme “Bright Futures Begin Lead-Free.” This campaign helps highlight the Global Alliance to Eliminate Lead Paint’s efforts to ensure a lead-free future, especially for children. This year the Week is using the same theme as the U.S. National Lead Poisoning Prevention Week campaign. An updated campaign website for the 2024 Week of Action is available.
As part of the week of action, EPA is spotlighting its involvement in the Partnership for a Lead-Free Future. To support tangible action to reduce risks of lead exposure worldwide, First Lady of the United States Jill Biden, USAID Administrator Samantha Power, and UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell launched a global initiative to end childhood lead poisoning in low- and middle-income countries on September 23 during the 79th UN General Assembly. EPA is a founding member of the Partnership for a Lead-Free Future, which builds off of EPA’s groundbreaking international achievements of eliminating lead in gasoline worldwide and developing and promoting the world’s first model laws banning lead in paints. EPA is providing technical guidance to USAID in developing and implementing the Partnership, with over 50 founding partners. Members of the Partnership collectively committed over $150 million toward mitigating global lead exposure, including nearly $25 million that USAID will provide in consultation with Congress.
Additionally, EPA and UNEP are hosting the Lead Paint Compliance and Enforcement webinar on October 22. The event seeks to highlight the importance of promoting compliance and effective enforcement among countries that are developing or implementing a lead paint law, as well as provide guidance on how governments can enforce lead paint laws. Additionally, the webinar showcases successful case studies and offers opportunities for participants to share information about enforcement and compliance.
More broadly, during the campaign week, EPA, World Health Organization, United Nations Environment Program and other members of the Global Alliance to Eliminate Lead Paint encourages participants to:
- Learn the Risks,
- Join the Action, and
- Eliminate Lead Paint.
View recent and past activities in the year of action:
- October 2023
- October 2022
- October 2021
- October 2020
- October 2019
- October 2018
- October 2017
- October 2016
- October 2015
- October 2014
- October 2013
October 2023:
The 11th annual International Lead Poisoning Prevention Week took place October 22-28, 2023 with the theme “End Childhood Lead Poisoning.” The aim of the week of action was to raise awareness about the health effects of lead exposure, to highlight the efforts of countries and partners to prevent lead exposure, and to urge further action to eliminate lead paint through regulatory action at a country level.
In November 2023, EPA also participated in a G7 Expert Meeting on Concrete Actions, Including Potential Capacity Building and International Cooperation Interventions, to Address Lead Pollution and Exposure in Low- and Middle-Income Countries. This was the second meeting in this G7 Expert Meeting series. Discussion centered on lead exposure source-specific activities, product stewardship and information exchange.
October 2022:
The 10th annual International Lead Poisoning Prevention Week of Action took place October 23 -29, 2022 with the theme, “Say No to Lead Poisoning.” The campaign promoted materials for participants to learn the risks, join the action, and eliminate lead paint, including customizable graphics and a social media toolkit. During the week, over 115 events were planned by 111 organizations from 57 countries.
EPA Assistant Administrator for International and Tribal Affairs Jane Nishida and Barbara Hendrie, Director of the North America office of the United Nations Environment Programme, collaborated on a campaign video about their organization’s shared efforts to eliminate lead paint, Say No to Lead Poisoning, and protect children around the world.
EPA also participated in a webinar on Advancing work on lead: lessons learned from the work on lead in gasoline, lead in paint and used lead-acid batteries organized by the United Nations Environment Programme and the World Health Organization, and shared a blog post on its Perspectives blog: Protecting Children Around the World from the Dangers of Lead Paint.
EPA also collaborated with the World Health Organization in developing campaign materials for the week, including a new Social Media Post Builder to promote the campaign.
October 2021:
The 9th annual International Lead Poisoning Prevention Week of Action took place October 24 -30, 2021. EPA joined the World Health Organization (WHO), the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) and other organizations around the world in "Working together for a world without lead paint."
Jane Nishida, EPA Assistant Administrator for International and Tribal Affairs, recorded a special message recognizing the importance of the issue for ILPPW 2021.
The campaign included materials for participants to learn the risks, join the action, and eliminate lead paint, including customizable graphics and a social media toolkit.
EPA also collaborated with the United Nations Environment Programme on an updated Toolkit for establishing laws to eliminate lead paint, which was launched during the campaign.
October 2020:
The 8th annual International Lead Poisoning Prevention Week of Action took place October 25 -31, 2020. EPA joined the World Health Organization (WHO), the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) and other organizations around the world to promote banning lead paint and to raise awareness of the activities of the Lead Paint Alliance. The campaign included more than 90 events in 60 countries organized by governments, civil society organizations, health partners, industry and other institutions.
October 2019:
The 7th annual International Lead Poisoning Prevention Week of Action took place October 20 -26, 2019. EPA joined the World Health Organization (WHO), the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) and other organizations around the world to promote banning lead paint and to raise awareness of the activities of the Lead Paint Alliance. The global campaign included 89 events held by 82 organizations in 57 countries.
October 2018:
The 6th annual International Lead Poisoning Prevention Week of Action (ILPPW)took place from October 21-27, 2018. More than 80 activities took place in 50 countries. In addition, new paint studies were released during the week by Alliance partner IPEN, confirming that paint with high levels of lead is available to consumers in Jamaica, Iraq and Mexico.
EPA participated in a Lead Paint Alliance Webinar for the Latin American and Caribbean Region, sponsored by UN Environment and the Inter-Governmental Network on Chemicals and Waste for Latin America. Over 60 participants included representatives from environment and/or health ministries in Brazil, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Jamaica, Honduras, Argentina, and Guyana, paint industry companies and associations from the region and National Cleaner Production Centers in Peru and Colombia, which assist industry in sustainability initiatives. In addition, EPA participated in a Lead Paint Alliance Briefing for Embassies in Washington, DC, hosted by the UNEP Regional Office for North America during the week.
Industry played an important supportive role during the 2018 Week of Action, including providing the following articles in industry publications:
- "We can't be green until lead is out of the scene," Going Green supplement, Polymers Paint Colour Journal (PPCJ) and Asia Pacific Coatings Journal (APCJ), October 23, 2018.
- "Global Lead Week of Action calls for ban on lead paint," Polymers Paint Color Journal, October 22, 2018.
- "Industry Leader Outlines How the Philippines Phased Out Lead Paint," Paint & Coatings Industry, September 13, 2018.
- "Global lead week of action calls for ban on lead paint," TechnoChops, October 25, 2018.
October 2017:
The 5th annual International Lead Poisoning Prevention Week of Action (ILPPW) took place from October 22-28, 2017. EPA joined the World Health Organization (WHO), the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) and other organizations around the world to promote banning lead paint and to raise awareness of the activities of the Global Alliance to Eliminate Lead Paint (Lead Paint Alliance). As chair of the Lead Paint Alliance, EPA worked with UNEP, WHO, and IPEN, an international environmental NGO, to help develop the 2017 ILPPW campaign package.
To support countries in developing legal limits, the Lead Paint Alliance developed a Model Law and Guidance for Regulating Lead Paint and a 2017 Update on the Global Status of Legal Limits on Lead Paint. Governments, businesses and civil society organizations were encouraged during the campaign to make a voluntary commitment to eliminate lead paint in the lead up to the third United Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA3), which took place in December 2017.
October 2016:
The 4th annual International Lead Poisoning Prevention Week of Action (ILPPW) took place from October 23-29, 2016. EPA joined the World Health Organization (WHO), the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) and other organizations around the world to promote banning lead paint by 2020 and to raise awareness of the activities of the Global Alliance to Eliminate Lead Paint (Lead Paint Alliance). UNEP, WHO, EPA and IPEN, an international environmental NGO, worked jointly to help develop the ILPPW campaign package, which provided customizable materials in 6 UN languages.
The 2016 ILPPW engaged 42 countries reporting over 100 events. For example, in Kenya a forum was held in an elementary school to teach about lead poisoning prevention and third party certification was discussed with industry. In China the government held a workshop on alternatives to lead in paint. In Bangladesh a mass rally and social media campaign were held to call for lead paint laws.
The 2016 ILPPW also included a major communications campaign to promote the Lead Paint Alliance and its efforts to eliminate lead in paint by 2020, reaching millions of viewers via X. This effort included the development of infographics and videos demonstrating health impacts of lead, sources of lead in the environment, and actions to reduce exposure, focusing prominently on the elimination of lead in paint by 2020. The campaign also included a X-based "Global Lead Chat," in which EPA participated in partnership with UNEP and WHO.
October 2015:
EPA played a leadership role in the International Lead Poisoning Prevention Week of Action (October 25-31). Activities included:
- Washington, DC: Embassy of Canada, UNEP, WHO and the US Government hosted a forum on "The Elimination of Lead in Paint: How Countries Can Take Action."
- Washington, DC: Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), EPA and CDC sign new statement of intent for collaboration in Latin America and the Caribbean.
- Bangladesh: High level officials met to discuss regulating lead in paint in their country; human chain formed to call for a “Lead Free Future.”
- Côte de Ivorie: Results of a lead paint study presented to government officials.
- Ethiopia: PAN-Ethiopia invited stakeholders to discuss the lead paint situation, released a new paint analysis and called for voluntary action to eliminate lead from household decorative paints.
- Georgia: The National Center for Disease Control and Public Health conducted a national workshop on “Say No to Lead Paint.”
- Nairobi, Kenya: Students learned about lead.
- Kazakhstan: Meeting held for media and civil society regarding lead and mercury in consumer goods.
- Mombasa, Kenya: Read-Lead social media campaign initiated.
- Nepal: "Stop Lead Paint posters" marked start of country campaign; PSA developed to promote new laws on lead in paint. View video.
- Ibadan, Nigeria: Young Volunteers for the Environment Nigeria held assemblies at 5 schools.
- India: First international conference on "Lead, Environment and Health."
- Philippines: Students in Masambong Elementary School participated in interactive awareness-raising program.
- Republic of Srpska, Bosnia and Herzegovina: The Ministry of Health and Social Welfare held a round table discussion to raise lead awareness.
- Uganda joins in the International Lead Poisoning Prevention Week of Action.
October 2014:
EPA participated in the second International Lead Poisoning Prevention Week of Action (October 19-25). At least 79 events took place in 37 countries across the globe. Activities included classroom and school events, public outreach, workshop and training sessions, as well as social media and press campaigns.
October 2013:
U.S. EPA participated in the first International Lead Poisoning Prevention Week of Action (October 20-26, 2013). During the campaign week, the Lead Paint Alliance raised awareness about lead poisoning, highlighted countries' and partners' efforts to prevent childhood lead poisoning, and urged further action to eliminate lead paint.
Contacts
For additional information on EPA's work with the Lead Paint Alliance, contact:
Angela Bandemehr
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Office of International and Tribal Affairs (2670R)
1200 Pennsylvania Ave., NW
Washington, DC 20460
E-mail: bandemehr.angela@epa.gov
(202) 564-1427